are trying to convince all of us. i think what she needs to do is continue what she has been doing the last few weeks alone which is be herself and lead confidently knowing it's okay for her to take center stage. i think she has been in a position as biden's vice president she had to make sure she wasn't overshadowing him or stepping out of line and getting more attention than he was, especially in the beginning of his administration. now we see the complete change in her ability to lead and be a really great order who is inspiring people of all generations across both parties because of who she is allowed to authentically be. donald trump can't give a so-called major speech on the economy that his campaign allegedly had planned. kamala harris can talk about how she can play for her economic plans when reporters are asking her questions on the side of the plane. i think as long as she keeps doing what she is doing and doesn't mess up, she will be in

good shape. >> certainly she has all of the momentum right now. thank you so much for joining us this morning. thanks to all of for getting up "way too early" for us on wednesday morning. i'll be back here live in chicago tomorrow. "morning joe" starts right now. delegates let us commence with the call of the roll of the stakes. >> delegates, are you ready? let me hear you! >> iowa, 40 delegates. >> you got to do it. right now. ♪♪ >> georgia. 59 delegates.

♪ get up turn it up ♪ >> west virginia, 32 votes. president donald j. trump. ♪ people come on people come on ♪ >> thank you, delegates. >> it's time for us to do the right thing and that is to elect kamala harris as the next president of the united states of america. a tale of two roll calls. the democratic in the convention turned what is usually a lifeless event to a party as

delegates pledged the nomination of kamala harris. when georgia was called, atlanta's own award winning rapper lil' john performed his hit songs. when california cast the final votes for kamala harris, it was timed perfectly with harris walking on stage in walking at a rally with about 15,000 people there. the vice president then addressed the two-packed arenas at the same time. >> good evening, milwaukee! and hello to everyone joining us from exciting chicago. the delegates at the democratic national convention, well, they just completed their roll call.

and they have nominated coach walz and me to be the next vice president and president of the united states of america and i thank everyone there and here for believing in what we can do together. we are so honored to be your nominees. this is a people-powered campaign and, together, we will chart a new way forward! >> wow. >> that was just the beginning. >> willie, i mean, talk about a show of force, a show of power. that was impressive. i don't think i've ever seen anything like that before. i mean, 15,000 in milwaukee just packed and then, you know, in chicago also at the convention.

wow. that was crazy. >> yeah. 20,000 in chicago and 15,000 in milwaukee. perfect stage craft as well. >> yes. >> by the way, lil' john is doing a roll call for the state of georgia, you're doing something right. lil' john is a contestant on "celebrity apprentice" season 11 who has turned his back on donald trump. >> i'm sure that had nothing to do with lil' john being selected! i will say, if you're looking at the contrast between the republican convention and the democratic convention, the roll call, what you're looking at now is when willie and eddie get together and have a party on the weekend. >> it's true. >> mine is more like the rnc. arnold palmer, anybody? >> the guy spinning the records. deejay cassidy, everybody wants that play list in the country. i went with springsteen and governor phil murphy said we are

representing the great city of new jersey and you're not. >> exactly. along with joe, willie, and me, professor of princeton university eddie vaughn jr. and a partner in chief political columnist john heilemann. host of "way too early," jonathan lemire. >> on central time zone. the name of the show brings an extra sting. "way too early"! >> "way too early." >> wait. wait. >> president of the national action network and host of msnbc's "politics nation" reverend al sharpton is with us as well. >> do you remember denver? >> 2008. >> you were getting up maybe at 1:00 a.m. getting ready for "way too early." >> i did "way too early" from the vancouver olympics 2:30 a.m.

chris licht and i waking up together. obviously, that was the -- the roll call was fun and the energy was real and the arena was packed. but then that was just the opening act. >> that was just the first. >> boy, did michelle bring it. one of the most popular figures in the democratic party, former first lady michelle obama gave a powerful 21-minute speech taking on donald trump on issues of race and gender. in her remarks, she touched on her family's history and the importance of this election. >> something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn't it? yeah. you know, we are feeling it here in this arena, but it's spreading all across this country. we love a familiar feeling that has been buried too deep for far too long. you know what i'm talking about!

it's the contagious power of hope. the anticipation. the energy. the exhilaration of, once again, being on the cusp of a brighter day. the chance to vanquish the demons of fear, division, and hate, that have consumed us and continue pursuing the unfinished promise of this great nation. the dream that our parents and grandparents fought and died and sacrificed for. america, hope is making a comeback. my girl! kamala harris is more than ready for this moment. she is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency.

and she is one of the most dign dignified, a tribute to her mother, my mother, and to your mother, too, the embodiment of the stories we tell ourselves about this country. her story is your story. it's my story. it's the story of the vast majority of americans trying to build a better life. she understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. we will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. if we bankrupt a business, if we

bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don't get a second, third, or a fourth chance. if things don't go our way, we don't have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. no. we don't get to change the rules so we always win. if we see a mountain in front-of-us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. no. now, unfortunately, we know what comes next. we know folks are going to do everything they can to distort her truth. my husband and i, sadly, know a little something about this. for years, donald trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. you see, his limited narrow view

of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard working highly educated successful people who happen to be black. i want to know. who is going to tell him that the job he is currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs? it's up to us to remember what kamala's mother told her, don't sit around and complain. do something. if they lie about her and they will, we got to do something. if we see a bad poll and we will, we have to put down that phone and do something. if we start feeling tired, if we start feeling that dread creeping back in, we have to pick ourselves back up and throw water on our face and do what? >> do something! >> consider this to be your official ask. michelle obama is asking you --

no, i'm telling y'all to do something! because -- >> do something! do something! do something! do something! do something! >> michelle obama, eddie, she rocked the night, but she was speaking to not just the young people across the nation. i think it's people across the nation who are just feeling like very, very brought down by the past, i don't know, four to eight years, the trump years, covid, the impact that it's had on our kids. she really brought people up and said, come on, it's on us. let's go. >> absolutely. the line hope is making a comeback as she did it with her arms out and that sleeveless outfit, you know? just wonderful. i think it was important for her who is always reluctant warrior to step on the stage and to come out and offer that account, that vision, that defense and then we

don't benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth, what a great line. i thought she understood, you know, when they go low, we go high. no, when they go low, we fight back and she fought back last night. >> reverend, you were in the room last night and watched the speech from michelle and president obama as well. president obama made that same message in point when he said we don't want to live in this country that donald trump has been showing us. the picture he has been painting the last decade. we don't want to be divided. in fact, we are not and something we say on the show all the time when you coach little league or go to church, we are not the way donald trump says we are. so let's not be that way. let's have hope make that comeback. >> i think that the electricity you saw here last night, and in my opinion, electrified people around the country, is that we are not dealing with grievance

and we are not even dealing with the fact that some of us are in unfair situations as we consider it. but they reignited in us hope that we are better than this and we can do better than this and we can strive to make this country better. and we have done so in the past. i couldn't help but think about 20 years ago in 2004 when president obama, then senate candidate obama, brought that center stage. i was in that convention. i had ran that year and then 20 years later, they are bringing us back to the same place of saying, we will not surrender to despair and turning on each other, that we can, through hope, unite this country and go to the next chapter. i thought it was awesome. >> yeah. i was on the floor last night about halfway back during the obama speeches. first of all, we can't underscore enough reception they received here in their hometown of chicago. democrats just so happy to see

them again. and how powerful each were. in part, because we don't hear from them that often. michelle obama, as reverend sharpton noted, famously dislikes politics and hear from her four years ago. they say they keep president obama's talks rare so he has more emphasis. as we have gotten to already that the hope, the idea of a positive message. the idea that it's not -- the voters that vice president harris needs to reach, it's not enough just to scare them in to not voting for donald trump. you need to inspire them to vote for kamala harris. barack obama in particular tried to connect his movement in 2008 what harris is trying to put together tonight. they both spoke to momentum and saying, look. democrats feel good right now but warn that very hard days are

ahead. the other side will do whatever it takes they need to win and democrats need to run up the score in order to get through this. >> former president -- go ahead. >> yeah. -- go ahead. >> john heilemann, go. >> yeah. you know, i think, jonathan, i think that is right. i'll tell you, i think, you know, you had -- there was a total difference between the two of them. they were working in tandem but they had -- there was a total difference in -- an important one. i think michelle obama -- a piece of political communication, i can't think that i've seen anyone do it better than i saw her do it last night. and she's in the upper echelon of any convention speech ever been given. i think it's important the notion of the reluctant warrior. her credibility -- people say she is one of the most popular political figures in the democratic party or in the

country. her power comes from she is not a political figure. she is beyond politics. her credibility comes from the fact that people believe she takes the stagereluctantly. she doesn't see politics something she wants to take part in. she only comes out that she thinks the stakes are so high. michelle robinson from working class chicago speaks in a vernacular that is different than her husband's and different from anybody else. the directness of her message to a lot of people in the democratic coalition which was there is no time for fooling around here. none of this goldilocks stuff where we have to have the perfect candidate. you don't -- don't get precious about whether anybody has asked you enough times to go out and do what you have to do here. i'm telling you that the stakes are really high. i need -- you need to work now. stop screwing around. her directness, very powerful, i

thought, and then the second thing with barack obama, to your points, the echoes of the 2004 speech were really clear. i think one of the things that both obama's, even they they too some well calibrated shots at donald trump there was an effort to go beyond that and try to have a conversation about the many, many people in the middle who weren't for trump who have -- but are tired of trump and they are tired of everything about our polarized politics from the past 20 years. you heard barack obama basically saying, you know, we don't want to be part of a divided country. and that actually -- his attacks on trump were in a couple of places acute but very much restrained. he very much i think was trying to move the convention almost in a direction away from -- people enjoy -- in this setting beating up donald trump and no reason

why they shouldn't and they rightly do. i think barack obama was trying to get back to early obama politics which is about the politics of agreeing without being disagreeable and i think part of the electorate that kamala harris needs to reach in order to win. >> last night was a special night, mika. as just mentioned, the obama's don't get out as much as democrats would love for them to get out. in fact, there is frustration. why aren't you out more? the fact that they do hold their political fire as much as they do make evenings like last night so special. so when you see michelle obama come out, when you see barack obama come out, it has such an impact in a way that, as john said, very few others have. michelle obama last night lit it

up in a way that very few people at conventions have lit it up. you certainly put it up there with barack obama's 2004 speech or reagan's 1980 speech, with ted kennedy's speech in i believe 1980 also at the democratic national convention . it was an extraordinary speech and barack obama's as well. i love the message, too. the message that we are going to have bad polls ahead. everybody is so excited right now and everybody is so joyful right now. bad polls are ahead. bad news is ahead. this is going to be a tough battle to the very end. it's an incredibly important message because i have found, not being a democrat, being an independent, i have found -- back when i was a republican,

that democrats could easily be deflated. oh, we don't deserve good things. i was always impressed by the stories of barack obama in iowa in 2008. he would go to the back of the bus and ask what are you guys doing? they would are fretting over a new poll. he is like, you know what? just basically just shut up and work. he didn't tell them to shut up and work but he is like i don't want to hear it. i'm going back to the front of the bus and let's control what we can control. they have the perfect mindset, especially as democrats and i would say, mika, maybe one reason why barack obama, with michelle obama, were the only democratic candidates, the only democratic president to get elected two times with the majority of the vote going back, i think, to fdr. >> well, look at the people who

you compared her speech with and this is a woman who doesn't even like politics, as you pointed out, eddie. man. she has got some skills for sure. so here now is some of the keynote address from former president barack obama. >> chicago! it's good to be home! it is good to be home. and i don't know about you, but i'm feeling fired up! i am feeling ready to go. even if -- even if i am the only person stupid enough to speak after michelle obama.

i am feeling hopeful. because this convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible. now, the torch has been passed. now, it is up to all of us to fight for the america we believe in. and make no mistake, it will be a fight. for all of the incredible energy we have been able to generate over the last few weeks, for all of the rallies and the memes, this will still be a tight race in a closely divided country. and as we gather here tonight, the people who will decide this election are asking a very simple question -- who will

fight for me? who is thinking about my future, about my children's future, about our future together? one thing is for certain, donald trump is not losing sleep over that question. here is a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago. it has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that has actually been getting worse, now he is afraid of losing to kamala. there is the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories.

this weird obsession with crowd sizes. the other day, i heard someone compare trump to the neighbor who keeps running his leaf blower outside of your window every minute of every day! now from a neighbor, that is exhausting. from a president, it's just dangerous. the truth is donald trump sees power as nothing more than it means to his ends. he wants the middle class to pay the price for another huge tax cut that would mostly help him and his rich friends. he doesn't seem to care if more women lose their reproductive

freedoms since it won't affect his life. and most of all, donald trump wants us to think that this country is hopelessly divided between us and them. between the real americans who, of course support him, and the outsiders who don't. and he wants you to think that you'll be richer and safer if you will just give him the power to put those other people back in their place. it is one of the oldest tricks in politics. from a guy who, let's face it, has gotten pretty stale, we do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. we have seen that movie before and we all know that the sequel is usually worse!

kamala harris won't be focused on her problems. she will be focused on yours. as president, she won't just cater to her own supporters and punish those who refuse to kit the ring or bend the knee. she will work on behalf of every american. that is who kamala is. >> so, mika, few people better go at donald trump with humor than does former president barack obama, including just a little glance down at his hands when he was talking about the crowd size there. but also the subtext of what he was saying was effectively that kamala harris inherits his mantle. we have been in this decade of donald trump and covid and just despair and heaviness and that kamala harris is ready, as former president obama did 16 years ago, to lift us up and to take us to a different place.

>> i think that line about the sequel is always worse is actually very ominous because when you look at what already has been done as a result of the trump administration to women's lives and to women's health, it's frightening, actually, when you think about it. so two incredible speeches. we are also going to hear from doug emhoff. >> he was great. >> he spoke last night so that is still ahead. also still ahead on "morning joe," democratic senator mark kelly and north carolina governor roy cooper will be on our guests and they were on kamala harris's short vp list and they are backing the harris/walz ticket. first to michigan and donald trump's message to supportivers -- supporters in that state. and republicans spoke at the democratic national committee last night. we will show you some of their speeches. we are back in 90 seconds.

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dnc is featuring a number of republicans this week in an effort to sway swing voters. geoff duncan and adam kinzinger and olivia troye will speak today or tomorrow. former trump white house press secretary stephanie grisham and john giles spoke yesterday slamming former president trump. >> behind closed doors, trump mocks his supporters. he calls them basement dwellers. in a hospital visit he was mad cameras were not watching him in an icu. he has no empathy, no morals, and no fidelity to the truth. he used to tell me, it doesn't matter what you say, stephanie, say it enough and people will believe you. but it does matter. what you say matter.

what you don't say matters. when i was press secretary, i got skewered for never folding a white house briefing. it was because unlike my boss, i never wanted to stand at that podium and lie. now here i am behind the podium advocating for a democrat. and that is because i love my country more than my party. kamala harris tells the truth. she respects the american people. and she has my vote. >> i have a confession to make. i am a lifelong republican. so i feel a little out of place tonight. but i feel more at home here than in today's republican party. the grand ole party has been kidnapped by extremists and evolved into a cult, the cult of

donald trump. i have an urgent message for the majority of americans who, like me, are in the political middle. john mccain's republican party is gone and we don't owe a damn thing to what has been left behind. >> you're hearing from republicans there including chief of staff to melania trump and white house press secretary, stephanie grisham. she produced a text and put it up on the screen saying peaceful protests are fine and we don't want the violence but melania simply replied no. >> wow. >> democrats were spreading that optimistic about america last night. former president donald trump delivering a speech at a sheriff's office in howell, michigan, he spent an hour vilifying migrants and making false claims about crimes under

the biden/hair it's administration. >> just about every law enforcement group in the country has endorsed us, as you probably have heard, and there is a reason for that, because i believe in law enforcement. the other group doesn't. you can't walk across the street to get a loaf of bread, you get shot and you get mugged and raped. we will stop the plunder rape and slaughter and destruction of our american suburbs. i keep the suburbs safe. i stop low income towers from rising right alongside of their house. and i'm keeping the illegal aliens away from the suburb. in 2019, i had zero. now you have thousands of terrorists coming into our country. thousands of terrorists. these are the people that blew up the world trade center. bad things will happen. they don't arrest people any more. and they shouldn't arrest people for saying the election was rigged but they like that. they go after guys like me but they don't go after people that kill people.

>> donald trump, of course, is describing the plot of apache of the bronx. a great movie. a great move. >> great reference. >> great reference, too, but it bears absolutely no semblance to what is happening right now because he says you get shot if you walk across the street. >> or raped. >> or raped if you want to get a piece of bread. crime. i know that these facts, as ronald reagan would say, they are such stubborn things. i know it irritates people who support donald trump, but if crime keeps going on the trajectory that it's going right now, it's going to be lower than it was violent crime in 1950. crime is going at an extraordinarily positive direction right now. we have seen inflation continue to go down.

and, again, i just don't know how many times i can say this, but it needs to be repeated because republicans lie so much about immigration. illegal border crossings were at a 50-year low when barack obama left office and donald trump became president of the united states. it skyrocketed after barack obama left office. remember, he was called deporter in chief. remember that? there is a reason. because illegal border crossings under obama/biden at a 50-year low than when trump became president and it skyrocketed. now illegal border crossings are lower than they were when donald trump left office. so i understand that facts don't matter for so many people who

support donald trump because how could they if you're still supporting donald trump? we could go down the long, long list of things he said and things he has done. i've got to say that stephanie grisham email to melania trump. >> the text, yeah. >> the text saying should we say that the protests should be peaceful and her response being no. really shows just how corrosive, how corrosive that administration was and the people around donald trump. it's inexplicable that anybody, any president, any first lady, anybody associated with the white house would not call for peaceful protests. yesterday, there you have it. at least the president and first lady, no.

i will say everybody else around donald trump, including his children, were desperately trying to get through to him, tell them to stop. fox news host who go on that night and defend donald trump after the riots, after the four dead cops, they would defend -- but while it was happening, they were desperately asking for it to stop. his lawyers begging him to tell them to stop. they wouldn't do it. so, yeah. i guess facts really don't matter, unfortunately, to so many. you know, john heilemann, you look at what happened last night and you look at donald trump's events yesterday and then the day before, they were strange,

they dower and you look at all of the shots from the democratic convention and, you know? republicans are saying this. you see joy. you see smiles. you see optimism. that sort of sunny optimism that ronald reagan showed in 1980 and 1984. that sort of sunny optimism was in contrast to democrats at that time. talk about the tale of these two campaigns right now in august as we move toward labor day and beyond when the real campaign starts. >> well, i think thereare two pieces to that, joe. a topic we have come back to again and again. you can't say it enough times. the flip side of what the

obama's were saying and what we pointed out this morning, what you pointed out is that, you know, it's going to be a close race, et cetera. is that it's going to be a close race in the other direction, also. and then that means that, you know, all of these people who are around donald trump trying to desperately over the course of the last five weeks now, since kamala harris became the presumptive democratic nominee saying to trump we need to be focused and you need to get it together and it's now five solid weeks he is not able to be disciplined. he is in the able to be focused. he is not able toing energetic. my columnist last week raised this question, is it not clear now that donald trump's cognitive decline, his mental acuity, the lack of energy. the things whether you like trump or not. back in 2016, there were times he could be a beast as a

political athlete. it's not there any more. and i think, you know, it bodes ill for the republican campaign not on many of the moral and ethical grounds we often rightly raise but just on the level can this candidate who is so central to this campaign. there is no campaign without donald trump. if he is not performing at some level of basic disciplined rigor focus, there is no way the republican candidate, given all of the momentum on the democratic side, no way donald trump can win. what you see on the democratic side rightly now is focused energy and discipline. i know we will talk about doug emhoff in a second. i thought it was visited yesterday. is that doug emhoff's speech with his blended family who his son said we don't look like every other family who has been in the white house but we can represent all american families. that is right.

that is what american families look like now. they feel like today, that feels -- the picture of the democratic convention is a picture that looks like what america looks like in 2024 and what it's going to look like going forward. a lot of what you see on the republican side is very much yesterday's news. and i think that that is a powerful thing for the democratic campaign that is trying to align itself with the future, you got to start with a party and a campaign and a candidate and a family that looks like today and that is what the harris family looks like and that is what the democratic convention looked like. the opposite of what you see in this kind of old dilapidated. it looks boring and it looks like yesterday. >> some news about tomorrow. we can say reverend al sharpton, you'll be delivering remarks from the convention stage here the dnc has announced and we are looking toward to that tomorrow night. but let's get you on trump for a

moment. someone you've, obviously, known a long time. this was a very low wattage and low energy speech, two days in a row. now he is, for him, trying to be more message. his adviser put together a counter programming week to the dnc and supposed to hit a different topic each day. smaller events. it looks like trump is sulking and going through the motions. we know when he is in a box, he breaks out with something incendiary. it's still a flailing campaign right now to john's point. you can track that low energy and doom and gloom compared to the scenes behind us, the crowds and agilitation and joy. that is a pretty compelling picture for america. >> very compelling. let us remember that trump started his political career, so to speak, on birtherism.

like them against us. that barack obama is not really an american. for us, it was about pit is people against each other but that has always countered out when you have people who represent the best in us, hope, we can do this together, the progress we can make and the progress that women have made in this country and the progresses that black and others have made. when you contrast that on somebody playing on our divisions they he will play that every time and may take longer but last longer. i think people went through this trump four years and not only was beat down with the pandemic beat-down, with a divisive hazel kind of atmosphere, and they are welcoming now we can begin to try and strive again to face our difficulties, but we can win because we have won. i think that is what last night with the obama's reminded people of. i think that is what kamala

harris and doug emhoff remind people of as a family. >> no doubt about it, and, eddie, i was looking at you while john heilemann was talking and you were mouthing the words he repeated. they are descriptive. donald trump a ferrell beast as a political animal in 2016 and going thing he meant that as a compliment and now talking about the sagging campaign. something about doug emhoff's family that we are talking about right now. a blended family. you look at the republicans and it is. it's sort of a 1950s family. it's a 1960s family. it looks like my family looked, you know, in the 1960s and 1970s growing up. you look, though, at kamala harris and doug emhoff's family and it is a blended family. and a family that looks a lot like families i see in

evangelical churches i go to. a miscalculation i think that donald trump always makes, that every evangelical church is all white and aren't bledded families and aren't families that look like america. there are, even in areas that are supposed to be bedrock republican constituencies. there is just simply no effort. certainly in donald trump's republican party to acknowledge that america is a very diverse place, even supposedly white evangelical churches. >> at the level of culture, america's diversity is in full bloom. you see people of color singing country music. you see blended families. you see all of us participating in what is great about this country in so many ways. it's diversity.

you know, there are two powerful political forces always at work in western politics. that is hope and there is fear. and, you know, you can trace fear back all the way back. we always know that the obama's represented fear for a lot of folk. remember the fist pump? was that the activation of a conspiracy, right? remember the idea that the obama's are sending to the white activated all of these grievances. remember the idea of the racially ambiguous children on cheerios commercials? oh, my god, what has happened to the country? this is what makes it close. right? for the obama's to show -- i was thinking about this as we were talking about it for them to turn up on the stage again, right? in so many ways, reminds us of what was the impetus. as we talk about this moment, as

we talk about the diversity of america on the ground, we have to be mindful of the fear that has motivated our politics over the last decade or so. and be mindful of how powerful it is. >> willie, in 2024, that fear is dated. >> it feels like it. >> 2024 is not 2007 and 2008 leading up to barack obama. in 2008 a bunch of old earl white guys that would be on tv talking like this! i sat there thinking, i went to law school with that guy. you know? like, this is not unusual. we grew up with that guy. it was not like, oh, my god. i can understand for guys in their 60s and 70s then that is like, wow. but i remember having a conversation with tom brokaw. he said i talked to my daughters and they are in their mid to late 40s. they said, dad, stop making a

big deal out of it. this is america now. that was in 2008. i agree. everything you say, there was a resentment, there was a pushback. but, man, in 2024 -- you know, sometimes you see commercials and you're like, oh, don't force it! why are you forcing it? you know? you're talking about you're racially ambiguous this or that and you know? comedians talk about they try to hit every demographic. about you in 2026, it's kind of like that is america. nobody is sitting there thinking, oh, my god! what -- what raises the child leading the cheerios? they are just like, i wonder if my family would like those cheerios. i'm just saying, what a beautiful child. things have changed so much from 2008. donald trump's view of america has not. i think that will cost them politically. >> i forget about the terrorist fist jab!

the tan suit. all of it. you're absolutely right. everything donald trump has ever said about let's go back to barack obama with birtherism that is he is not one of us, he is from some other place, do you know what i mean? talking to his audience. >> what he is saying about kamala. >> he is doing it again. he messes up her name and whatever he writes, how he spells it. she is different and not one of us and she decided to be black recently. where is she really from? a couple of days he said her policies are like a jihad. it's not code but it's explicit, actually. she is not one of us. the crowd is saying she is my neighbor. i work with her. i go to school with her. i went to her -- you know? it is. it's a dated way of thinking that he is trying to layover old thinking.thinking. he's right to lay over some old thinking on to modern times. >> the optics of the blended family and, you know, what -- compared to donald trump's republican party, it's backed up by policy. because there are republican women in donald trump's

republican party who will need health care. dare i say, abortion health care, if they have a problem in some way, shape, or form. so the policy is backing up the optics that we're talking about, which i think will be extremely legitimizing and add credibility to the democratic ticket. john heilemann, thank you very much. and coming up on "morning joe," during last night's convention, a group of black male voters met to discuss this year's election. what's at stake and how they feel about both candidates. nbc's trymaine lee will show us some of that conversation when he joins us live from chicago. >> and we have doug. >> oh, i can't wait to play doug's speech! we'll be right back! doug's speech! we'll be right back!

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with the best in home wifi. easily transfer your services in the xfinity app. bring on the good stuff. 56 past the hour. look at that beautiful shot. >> beautiful shot! and i think, willie, without a doubt, playing elo's best song. they've got some great songs, but how do you beat "mr. blue sky," especially on day like today. >> as the sun rises over new york city on a beautiful august day. perfect! >> let's just let jeff lens' master piece breathe for a second. thank you, chopper 4.

>> okay. let's take a look now at some of the other stories making headlines this morning. a "wall street journal" exclusive explains how a general's blunder left russia's border vulnerable to a ukrainian attack. faced with a critical shortage of men, the military appointee dismantled a key counsel tasked with protecting the kersk border district. russia's defenses crumbled when ukrainian troops executed a lightning offensive. >> that's a scene out of "hunt for red october." >> there you go. >> you've lost another submarine. >> more news now. back in march, president biden approved a highly classified strategic plan that for the first time focuses america's nuclear deterrence strategy on china.

according to "the new york times," the shift comes as the pentagon believes beijing's nuclear arsenal will rival the size and diversity of the united states and russia's over the next decade. and one more from "the wall street journal." elon musk's takeover of twitter is now the worst buyout for the banks since the financial crisis. the seven banks that lent money to the billionaire's holding company have been unable to off-load the debt without incurring major losses. that's largely because of x's weak financial performance. the value of the loans quickly soured after the $44 billion acquisition was completed. >> you know, willie, when elon musk started looking at twitter for $44 billion, we said on this show, at the time, without any malice towards elon musk, what a terrible business deal that was. and we would have people who were experts in silicon valley going, it's elon, elon does what

elon -- he's a genius! this is going to be great! he's going to turn this into -- we're like, no, this is a bad idea. he needs to focus on being a genius on rocket ships to mars, on cars, on oil the things that he's able to do. and i can understand, i mean, if you've got that much money, i guess if you want to burn through $34 billion, and he's like one of the two people in the world who can burn through that, okay. but what i don't understand is, why the banks would line up behind such an obviously bad deal. because let me tell you, if i can tell you it is a bad deal, sitting here on "morning joe," the guy that took, you know, econn 101, at the university of alabama, and i think i got a c minus because i sat in the back reading "sports illustrated," if i can tell you that's a bad

deal, that's a bad deal and i'm really shocked that the banks went along for this deal. elon musk, he made the money, he can spend it anyway he wants to, but i'm not sure i understand why the banks lined up to support such an obviously bad business deal. >> most people think he paid at least twice what twitter was worth and maybe more. and i think it goes to the blind trust elon musk that he is some genius that sees over the horizon and understands this will be a good business. it's not a good business, but what he got it for to be a daily platform, and let's be honest, turned it into a says poole, and used it to amplify certain points of view, to host donald trump, to push his support for donald trump. he's now in total lockstep with donald trump. it's not even innuendo anymore, he's there to support donald trump and he's got this big platform that we all rely on for news gathering, we're still there. but it's become something much different than it was even before he owned it.

>> it is exactly the top of the hour. more this hour from the rousing democratic convention last night. we're going to hear from second gentlemen doug imhoff. he had a great speech last night and barak and michelle obama as well. but first, since taking over the democratic nomination for president, vice president harris has seen an historic shift in voter enthusiasm. black americans who have consistently been one of the democratic party's most importantly voting blocs have rallied around her candidacy. but some groups such as the atlanta-based black man lab are speaking out to make sure that the party they choose to support will meet their concerns. let's bring in msnbc correspondent, trymaine lee. he joined the black man lab for a special chicago-based session where the group discussed the democratic party and its hopes for the election. trymaine, what did they tell you? >> that's right, mika. for many months, we've been talking about donald trump

gaining ground with black voters. but since vp harris entered the race, there's been this dramatic shift in energy. last night, i went down to the south side of chicago, which can be a world away from where we are here in the united center, to tap in with these brothers. i met with this cross-generational group of men, black men from the midwest and georgia, organized from the black man lab which is based in atlanta to do a temperature check. this is what they had to say. check it out. >> i want to ask you brothers, how are y'all feeling about this election? how are you feeling? >> i kind of feel cheated. i kind of feel like i'm being forced to make a decision that i don't want to make on either candidate. one is because one of the persons shouldn't be dealing with humanity altogether. and the other person, i don't know much about her and she's been in office for the past three and a half years. >> i don't feel cheated, i feel excited about the fact that we

have a chance to make history again. and in doing that, i'm a part of that. >> right about now, i feel excited about the election. i will admit, when i thought it was going to be biden for the democratic party, i honestly felt like trump would beat biden. because of his age, his mental state and everything like that, but since kamala's come along, i think we really have a good shot at it. i don't feel like no one should ever just put all of your eggs in one basket, because there's only so much she can do as president. >> so how are you feeling about this election? you talked about this feeling among some folks around your age who aren't sure if politics serve them. how do you feel about this? >> me personally, i feel like -- i don't necessarily feel like i've been cheated, but it's hard to get behind, right? i feel like kamala has given us

a new energy. before when it was just biden and trump, it was just like -- with kamala, i get a little bit of hope. but i'm kind of saddened by how people who look like me have talked about her ever since it's come up. and it's like, even if you don't necessarily agree or know about her record or, you know, think that she's the best person for the job, it's like, you don't want to give her a chance? you would rather give him a chance? and for me, that just -- that doesn't sit well with me. and also, i could just never openly support a man that comports himself in public the way trump does. >> that's right! >> so for me alone, like, for that -- excuse me, for that fact alone, i feel like that i really have no choice. but i also don't feel like me voting for kamala right now is going to do anything for me realistically in my life. i feel like my life could change

negatively if trump does get in office, i feel like it could also change negatively if kamala gets in office. >> joe and mika, the openness, the honesty, and the candor from these men in chicago last night was something that folks should really be paying attention to. for so long, they've been marginalized, their voices have been marginalized, but now they're finally speaking. and there has been some shift in energy, but they're still kind of not on the fence or who they're going to vote for necessarily. there is still that feeling that they may not be served well. >> thank you so much. msnbc news correspondent, trymaine lee. thank you. and you know, the last speaker, i thought it was so fascinating where he said, i know that if donald trump is elected, my life could get much worse. if kamala harris is elected, basically, yeah, i'm not so sure it will get much better, right? the question is not necessarily whether some black men are going to, you know, the trump people

say oh, we'll get 20 to 30% of black men, no, they're not. the question is, do they stay home or are they inspired to get out. >> that's the work that needs to be done in a very short amount of time in term of the democratic ticket. so the obamas were the headliners for night two of the democratic national convention. the former president and first lady did not hold back when it came to donald trump, delivering fiery speeches in support of kamala harris. >> she understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failed forward, we will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. if we bankrupt a business, if we bankrupt a business or choke in

a crisis, we don't get a second, third, or fourth chance. if things don't go our way, we don't have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. no, we don't get to change the rules so we always win. if we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. now, unfortunately, we know what comes next. we know folks are going to do everything they can to distort her truth. my husband and i sadly know a little something about this. for years, donald trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. see, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of

two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be black. i want to know, who's going to tell him -- who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking just might be one of those black jobs? >> he killed a bipartisan immigration deal written in part by one of the most conservative republicans in congress, that would have helped secure our southern border, because he thought trying to actually solve the problem would hurt his campaign. he doesn't -- do not boo! vote! whether you are a democrat or a republican or somewhere in between, we have all had people like that in our lives. people like kamala's parents, who crossed oceans because they

believed in the promise of america. people like tim's parents, who taught him about the importance of service. good, hard-working people, who weren't famous or powerful, but who managed in countless ways to lead this country just a little bit better than found it. as much as any policy or program, i believe that's what we yearn for. a return to an america where we work together and look out for each other. a restoration of what lincoln called on the eve of civil war, our bonds of affection. an america that taps what he

calls the better angels of our nature. that is what this election is about. >> joining us now from chicago, we have u.s. special correspondent for bbc news, katty kay. senior writer for "the dispatch," david drucker, and special correspondent at "vanity fair" and the host of the fast politics podcast, molly john fast. good to have you all with us this hour along with eddie glaude as well. so katty kay, your thoughts on first of all the obama's prime-time speech last night. >> so, i think michelle obama has got to that wonderful age, mika, that you will understand, of women who get to a certain age and they really don't care anymore. and they've had so much thrown at them, and she has had a lifetime in the political arena of political attacks and she was going to say what she thought. and she delivered it brilliantly. she had some humor, but she was fighting. and she was encouraging everybody else to fight as well.

and, you know, there's a reason that you have millions and millions of americans, and can i say as well, people around the world, wishing that michelle obama would run for president. she's not going to, but it is their fervent hope, because she is so good. and she's got better and better. and i got that sense in her when she delivered those lines about, you know, the things that she said about, he didn't like successful people who happened to be black. it's probably what she wanted to say in public for very many years, or held back for being first lady or running to be first lady or her husband's career, and now she can say it and got to that stage of her life where she can say what she wants. >> i will say katty and jonathan and everybody else around the table, i think michelle obama may have reached that age at like 15. . i don't think she's ever gone, oh, should i speak out -- >> in 2008, she was sometimes nervous about the way she was going to be perceived, if she

spoke out too forcefully. she couldn't always say exactly what she felt in 2008. and now here she is. >> to your point, i interviewed her when barack obama was running the first time, just coming out on to the national stage and she said, we're not going to change for people. we're not doing that. we're coming in and we're staying who we are. and that, you know, that's going to have to work, and if it doesn't, it doesn't. >> i remember she also said, you've got one shot at us. if you want us, we're here. if you don't want us, we're going home. >> i do think john lemire, like we said last hour, one of the things that make their speeches so powerful, michelle obama's speech so powerful, barack obama's speech so powerful, not only are they extraordinary at delivering addresses, but also, again, they don't get out much as far as in the political fray.

people are always frustrated. they want them to get out and do more earlier, more often. and here you see last night, wisely, they choose their moments, they pick their spots, and it makes a huge difference. >> precisely right. i was talking to some obama aides yesterday before the specious who made that point. michelle obama, we basically hear from once every four years. she delivers a convention speech. it's a blockbuster, and she steps off stage again. barack obama does more than that, and he will, we anticipate, be on the road again for vice president harris this october. he's sort of the closer, if you will, for democrats, but their words carry such weight because we don't hear them that often. and i was in the hall last night on the floor. it was a rapturous response. and barack obama was perhaps upstaged by someone else, as michelle obama, molly, was just so good. perhaps the two best orators in the democratic party share the last name, they're in the same

household. and it was striking how michelle obama, you know, in 2016, very famously said, when they go low, we go high. last night, she more or less could have said, when they go low, to hell with that and really took it to them, and did so in a way, a very personal way, you could see her visceral dislike of donald trump. but also talking to democrats, talking beyond -- to americans, saying, we're better than this. let's start believing in hope again. >> and when i heard michelle obama, i thought, for a minute, i thought, did democrats elect the wrong obama? but then when you hear barack, he is such a gifted orator. but there were so many moments in michelle's speech where i really did think, you know, she sit so many important points, and she's such a private person. we know them to be very private. one of the reasons why we know she'll never run for president. and she brought in a lot of her

personal life. like, she said, she had her children through ivf, that was a throwaway line, but that was very meaningful. she obviously brought that up because of the republican attacks on ivf. and i thought that was really important. and then she talked about mothers and mothers and her mother and harris' mother. and i thought that also was an extremely important through-line, that i think was really meaningful. >> david drucker, just to watch the extraordinary enthusiasm and excitement in that room last night, in that arena the night before, you have to pull back for a moment and remember, today is now the one-month anniversary, if you will, of joe biden getting out of the race. also, a political lifetime ago, it feels. and you can't help but think about what a different convention this would have been had he made the decision to stay in the race. we probably wouldn't have seen the loud screams and cheers that we're seeing right now. >> no, we wouldn't have. look, the convention under biden after that debate in late june

was going to be a wake, and not an irish wake. it was doom and gloom. and i think one of the things i've noticed in covering democrats over the past month is, yeah, it's just been, like you said, it's just a month, is that they believe again. and it doesn't mean that they're going to win, when you look at polling, donald trump still has a lot of staying power on key issues, whether it's border security or the economy, he still leads the vice president, even though she leads him in so many horse race polls now. but it reminds me, and i love sports analogies when it comes to politics, because they're so apropos. when a team has been down by 20 points and they've come roaring back and now they're down 2, they're up 2, they're tied and they've got all of that momentum and the other side can't understand how this happened, it reminds me a little bit of 2016 from the reverse. when, you know, i would interview democrats and watch them at political rallies and they have this look and sound

of, i can't believe we might lose to this guy. don't they know what he's saying? aren't people listening? and you're getting a lot of that now from the republicans, who are saying, don't they know the vice president's policies? don't they know what she's said? how is this happening. and one more key point here. i know people have a lot of opinions about the former president, but in 2016 you could look at his message and he was aggrieved on behalf of so many voters who were unhappy with washington and unhappy with the broader establishment in the country as they saw it. and so much of his messaging now is that he's aggrieved on behalf of himself, and that's a big difference. still can win. if you look at the data, it's so tight. but it's just a different feel. >> this is a close race. a very close race. it's basically tied right now. and david's exactly right. the momentum seems to be all on one side, all on the democratic

side. and the question is whether donald trump can respond to this surge. and right now, it's not looking, you know, this has not been a good week for him. but we have 80-something days. so we're a long way. you know, it was a month ago, you know, a month and a half ago that republicans basically were saying they had it. you look at the republican convention, everybody that was reporting from the republican convention said they'd never seen a party so confident as the republicans that they were going to win. now they're saying the same thing at the democratic convention. so, fascinating. >> and it's interesting because the baton has been passed and kamala harris gets the baton from a man who has had, like it or not, you know, it's not arguable, an historic presidency, where he has had an historic number of accomplishments, bipartisan legislation, his work on the world stage. and his work to protect women's

rights in the fight after the overturning of roe. i mean, so they have a lot of issues on their side, but also, the pass off is a successful one. kamala harris can brag on what has been done during her time working for joe biden. >> but all along, we've been saying, and we're about to get to doug imhoff's speech here. but not only does joe biden have a lot of accomplishments that kamala harris can run on, but also the three issues that people have said and we have said all along -- let me just say, that i've said, that republicans should run on. they shouldn't focus on inflation, crime, and the southern border. made a lot of sense a couple of months ago. inflation now below 3%. crime on its way to being at a lower point than it was in 1950. and illegal border crossings lower now than they were when

donald trump left office. so, i know one of the great frustrations with joe biden is, there were so many playups in the last debate that he just couldn't make. i will say, this is one of those you know, turning a disadvantage into an advantage! it's one of those moments for those of you who watch late-night infomercials in the 1980s. >> just don't do it! >> the tin little people were there. >> standing in front of a lamborghini or something? >> exactly! but turn a disadvantage into an advantage, and that really is -- when you do that, that's the most powerful move you can make. >> right. right. >> if i were donald trump, i would actually be afraid to bring up immigration during the debate. >> yeah. >> because kamala harris is going to be ready. and that is seriously like leading with your jaw. to stick your jaw out like that

and basically say, yeah, i'm the one that killed the toughest border security bill ever written, because i said it would work. and that would hurt me politically. >> and she's already saying that on the stump. she will be delighted when that comes up in the debate. what she's saying is, he killed it, i'll sign it. period, end of story. that's it. >> what more do you need? >> eddie, there's a lot of talk about the vibe shift and that's certainly true, when you look at the enthusiasm at this convention. i mean, that is an event we're looking at right here. that is not the convention. that is vice president harris and governor walz in milwaukee at a different sold-out arena. and they were piped into the united center in chicago to speak to the crowd there. 90 miles away. >> unbelievable! >> just north of chicago, up the lake. so the vibes are there. that's true. but as joe said, there's also data now. and so donald trump is making an argument on old facts. it's true that inflation still is too high, groceries still cost too much, all of that's

true. but they're trending down. same goes for the border. same goes for violent crime. >> you hear republicans like lindsey graham saying that he should shift from all of the name calling and the grievance politics to actual policy. but when we shift to actual policy, he's not on solid ground. so just as you said around immigration, she can pop him in the jaw. if he mentions crime, yeah, you're the criminal. if he mentions tariffs, if he mentions inflation, you can talk about, oh, your tariff policy. if he mentions taxes, oh, you're going to raise taxes on middle class people in order to benefit people like you. when it comes to actual policy, where would he stand? so his only place where he's going to be comfortable, in grievance, on the battlefield of culture wars. and that seems to me old hat, as joe has been saying. >> so more from last night, second gentlemen doug imhoff sought to introduce the country to his wife, kamala harris, by highlight, their blended family during his convention speech. imhoff called his wife a joyful warrior and a loving co-parent

to his two now grown children from his first marriage. take a look. >> as i got to know her better and just fell in love fast, i learned what drives kamala. and it's what you've seen over these past four years and especially these past four weeks. she finds joy in pursuing justice. he stands up to bullies, just like my parents taught me to. and she likes to see people do well. but hates when they're treated unfairly. she believes this work requires a basic curiosity and just how people are doing. her empathy is her strength! those of you who belong to blended families know that they can be a little complicated. but as soon as our kids started

calling her momala, i knew we'd be okay. ella calls us a three-headed parenting machine. kamala and kirsten, thank you both. thank you both. for always putting your family and the kids first. and here's the thing about joyful warriors, they're still warriors! and kamala is as tough as it comes. just ask the criminals, the global gangsters, and the witnesses before the senate judiciary committee. she never runs from a fight. and she knows the best way to deal with a coward is to take him head-on. because we all know cowards are weak! and kamala harris can smell weakness! >> wow! emhoff emphasized no matter how demanding her job gets, she always puts family first. he said just a few days ago in

the middle of her busy schedule, she took an important phone call. >> of course, my mind went to all of the potential crises that the vice president could be dealing with, was it domestic, was it foreign, was it campaign, i could see she was focused and all i knew was that it must be something important. and it turns out it was. ella had called her. that's kamala. that's kamala. those kids are our priorities, and that scene was a perfect map of her heart. she's always been there for our children, and i know she'll always be there for yours, too. >> that's something we saw in some of the time we had with them. >> yeah, we see it. they've got a great relationship. it's not a -- i've got to say,

um, it's a political relationship. i was going to say, you see some couples together and it's almost like they're putting up a front and it's sort of, again, for political consumption. their -- >> no, they're adorable. >> they're really down to earth. >> and you would say adorable, yes. >> the second gentlemen also shared how on their anniversary every year, harris makes him listen to what he calls an embarrassing voice mail that he left her, asking her out on their first date. >> this thursday will be our 10th wedding anniversary. which, i know, i know it means i'm about to hear that embarrassing voice mail again. however, that's not all i'll be hearing. that same night, i'll be hearing my wife, kamala harris, accept your nomination for president of the united states!

and with your help, she will lead with joy and toughness! with that laugh and that look! with compassion and conviction! she'll lead from the belief that wherever we come from, whatever we look like, we're strongest when we fight for what we believe in, not just against what we fear. kamala harris was exactly the right person for me at an important moment in my life. and at this moment in our nation's history, she is exactly the right president. thank you so much. >> yeah. very moving. vice president harris watched her husband's speech while on air force 2 on her back to chicago from milwaukee. and she posted this photo on social media along with the caption, love you, dougie. and you know, doug -- doug has flown across the world as second

gentlemen. he's done a fantastic job. i actually had the opportunity to spend time with him and talk to him when we visited auschwitz on the 77th anniversary of its liberation, a year or two ago. and he's just a very impressive guy, down-to-earth guy, just so real. a really, really, a really good guy. >> and he's taken on issues to, you know, be valuable to not just the campaign, but when she was vice president, and at the same time, really making a space for her. very, really, really sweet guy who is ready for the job as, i guess, what -- it would be -- >> first gentlemen. >> first gentlemen, if she wins the presidency. >> for the first time. >> that would be history as well. there's so many ways, molly john fast, in which we could be witnessing an incredible amount

of history. >> yeah, i mean, there definitely is a feeling on the floor that there is history being made. and there's a kind of jubilance that i think you haven't seen in other conventions or at least you haven't seen since 2008. and it is -- you know, it's very, i think, but there's also an underlying anxiety. democrats remember 2016. so i would say there's a feeling of cautious optimism. >> mm-hmm. mm-hmm. >> yeah, also, we saw last night, we saw that picture there of the vice president on air force 2 coming back from milwaukee. later, they circled 15 minutes in the air because she didn't want to lose the connection. therefore, she wanted to watch the rest of emhoff's speech before they then landed in

o'hare. let's talk about the other side. you've got a new piece that gets into sort of -- we talk all the time about how important the blocking and tackling of politics are. and your new piece gets into how donald trump is outsourcing a lot of their voter turnout operations. so tell us what you found and how potentially that could pose a danger to the gop. >> yeah, this is really fascinating. earlier this year, rana mcdaniel, chairman of the republican national committee was planning a ground game similar to what we saw from republicans in 2020 and 2016. in other words, very effective, very modern. they were going to open field offices, deploy troops. and they were going to do what republicans have been doing since they reorganized their field operations after 2012, when obama kind of cleaned their clock in that race against romney. donald trump pushes out mcdaniel, hires michael watley, and nothing about watley here, but what donald trump has been telling allies, and he started saying this earlier this year is, don't worry about the ground

game. i'll get out the voters. you just make sure they don't cheat. and that's where a lot of the resources are going. and what they decided to do was outsource a lot of the door knocking and all of the direct mail and text messaging and all of that. by the way, i report this earlier in the year and donald trump starts to really cement a durable lead over joe biden. so, guess what, doesn't matter. ground game can get you one point, two points, maybe two and a half. and with his lead in the swing states, it wasn't going to matter that the biden campaign had this behemoth of an operation doing everything right. in a race where it's now a toss up, where this thing could go by a few thousand votes, here and there in wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, in particular, now we're looking at arizona and georgia back in play. it matters that the republicans have jettisoned their voter turnout operation that worked so

well for the former president in two campaigns. he came up just short in 2020. and so we're going see now with the harris campaign and all of the resources that they have, if this can make a difference. the vice president is going to have to keep it close, but it really could matter. >> this is such, such an important point. such a critical point. and it is one that i've been following closely. i remember in 2007, you know, early on, it was barack obama against hillary clinton. and it was like, oh, the clinton political machine is going to just grind them up. and then he announced, eddie, how much money he had raised. and i go, okay, this could be interesting. and then in the middle of the summer, 2007, i read an article that said the obama campaign was taking all of that money and putting it into the ground game. and i said, game on. okay, wait a second, this is a

different type of challenge. if he's putting all of that money into a ground game, then game on. this is going to be an amazing race. and this year, i've been thinking the same thing about the trump campaign, in an opposite way. not investing in the ground game. and i will say, even in the darkest hours of the biden campaign, you would talk to the campaign officials that would say, we have put so much money into the ground game in wisconsin and michigan and pennsylvania. you know, even -- you know, we're having some problems right now, but we're building up. the team building up an extraordinary ground game. and so here we are in a close race. this is the politicking and tackling of american politics. and you've got one side doing it and the other side outsourcing it. you do not want to outsource your blocking and tackling drills to like third parties. you need the campaign to be on top of it.

and they're just not. >> yeah, you outsource your whole line, you'll leave your quarterback in danger. identify learned this from you over these years, that that retail politics is absolutely essential. knocking on these doors, making contact. and just think about the implication, the impact of that down-ballot. not only will it help kamala harris get over the top, hopefully, at least from my vantage point, it's going to help down plat as they turn out folks in large and historic numbers. and remember what michelle obama said. they need to turn out in massive number. so there's no question here. and i think this difference is going to make a difference. >> that's right. there needs to be no question. >> no question. >> i think it will make a big difference. by the way, if she wins, i need to talk to doug, because i've had experience, you know, with sort of the first gentlemen of "morning joe". >> oh, oh, okay. >> sort of, the dennis thatcher of "morning joe." like i've learned.

you know, we'll be in airports and mika will be like, always 2 feet behind me, right? so she's -- you know, mika, everybody talks about, you know, i love the show, it should be called "morning mika" and you know it. >> just opening doors for her. >> i have to open doors, two feet behind her at all times. people are there for her. they are not there -- >> we understand our place on the show. >> good lord! just stop! senior writer for "the dispatch," david drucker, and special correspondent an "vanity fair," molly john fast. thank you both very much. >> what is it like 4:15 there? >> i don't know, but just sit there and look pretty. >> yes, ma'am. >> still ahead, senate majority leader chuck schumer will join after speaking at the dnc last night. plus, governor roy cooper is live in chicago with what's at stake in his battleground state, which one prominent election forecaster just moved into the toss-up category. but first, we'll be joined by the grandson of former president jimmy carter, jason carter, on

the heels of his speech last night at the dnc. "morning joe" will be right back. the dnc "morning joe" will be right back tamra, izzy and emma... they respond to emails with phone-calls... and they don't "circle back" they're already there. they wear business sneakers and pad their keyboards with something that makes their clickety- clacking... clickety-clackier. but no one loves logistics as much as they do. you need tamra, izzy and emma. they need a retirement plan. work with principal so we can help you with a retirement and benefits plan that's right for your team. let our expertise round out yours.

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we just want the truth again. it's time for the people to run the government and not the other time around! >> hello! i'm jason carter. my grandfather, president carter, will have his 100th birthday in october. . i call him papa, and i can tell you that he wishes he can be here tonight. for my grandfather, it was never about fame, recognition, accolades, or awards. his legacy is measured by the lives he has touched and the good he has done. kamala harris carries my grandfather's legacy. >> wow, that is an important state. that was jason carter, the grandson of former president jimmy carter, speaking at the dnc in chicago last night. 48 years after his grandfather accepted the democratic nomination at the 1976 dnc in new york city.

and jason joins us now. he is chairman of the carter center. and i'll second what you said. i think the entire life legacy of the carters is really a north star for this democratic ticket. and i think we're all wondering not only how he's doing, but the significance of you being there, representing former president jimmy carter last night. >> yeah, thank you so much. he's doing well. he has, as you know, been in hospice for 18 months. his body is very physically diminished, but he's doing well. he's sort of remarkably engaged in these moments and is excited about the prospects that we have to sort of turn the page on this era that we've been living in with donald trump as sort of a constant presence in our politics. so jason, as early voting starts, october is when your grandfather will turn $100. is he going to be voting? how much is he aware of what's

going on the ticket and what's happening with the democratic party right now? >> he's super aware. he's got a very engaged moment right now. he had a little bit of a low, as you can imagine, after my grandmother passed. they were married for 77 years. but he just recently -- we were talking about his 100th birthday, and he said, yeah, i'm excited about that, but i'm really excited to vote for kamala harris. he's engaged, like a lot of people in georgia, pretty energized by the current moment. >> so carter, of course, the most famous name in georgia politics. and it's a state that a few months ago looked like it was slipping away from democrats. it look like donald trump was going to put it back in his column after losing it in 2020. but now with the vice president at the top of the ticket and a surge of enthusiasm, what's your read on the state and where it could go? >> one of the things that's remarkable about georgia is in that last election, we just elected a republican governor and a democratic senator. there are folks in georgia that look past partisan politics that are really ready to, you know, vote particularly on the candidates. and so i think kamala harris has a real opportunity.

the ground game was already built. we've got 20-something offices in the state. and you've got a real significant, significant amount of jolt of energy. so all of that combines to say, you know, it's a swing state, and i think i feel pretty good about it. certainly the momentum. >> jason, good morning. great speech last night. well done. i'm curious to hear what your grandfather thinks about the transition from president biden, who was a good friend of his, and has been for many, many years to kamala harris. when you spoke to him, what was his view of the way this move, this switch has been made? >> look, you know, so joe biden was one of my grandfather's very best friends. he was the very first senator to endorse my grandfather in 1976. so they've both been around for a long time. but i think my grandfather was proud that joe biden took a courageous decision to pass the torch. we've been doing work across the world on democratic elections in

different contexts. it's very rare for a sitting president to say, you know what, it's time for somebody else to take over. and the fact that he did that drew a lot of respect, a lot of acclaim from my family and i think that's not surprising given how we've always held the bidens in that type of real respectful esteem. >> looking at these pictures of jimmy carter, they're extraordinary. you know, people are always said, oh, you know, the greatest post-presidency ever. the further -- it's just like harry ttruman, the further you get away from his presidency, the more you realize that his presidency in many ways shaped the world positively the way we lived today. 1979, the opening of china, it started globalization, globalization again, some challenges, but also, it's put america as the preeminent power on the face of the earth. the camp david stopped ground wars in the middle east parts 40

years, just absolutely extraordinary. you look at the resistance to communism, his human rights campaign, to communism. his joining up with the polish pope. the nine days that changed the world when the polish pope first went to poland and working with a certain polish national security adviser, as well. the resistance in afghanistan. the real cracks in the wall that started to bring down the berlin wall a decade later. that started under jimmy carter. that started in 1979. an extraordinary presidency, as well as post-presidency. >> absolutely. the grandson of former president jimmy carter, jason carter, thank you very much for coming on the show this morning. >> thank you guys so much for having me and i appreciate the history there. >> all right.

>> it's nice. all right, thank you, jason. coming up, donald trump continues to face backlash for his comments about the medal of freedom being better than the medal of honor. democratic senator and retired navy pilot mark kelly will weigh in on that and the sacrifice our veterans have made for this country. "morning joe" will be right back. country. "morning joe" will be right back ♪ ♪ not every decision you make will be as good as getting a volkswagen at the savvy vw summer sales event. 2024 volkswagen models cost less to maintain than honda.

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i have to sigh, miriam, i watch sheldon sitting so proud in the white house when we gave maream the presidential medical of freedom, and that's the highest award you can get as a civilian, and it's much better than the medal of congress, and everybody gets the congressional medal of honors, and soldiers are either in bad shape because they have been hit by so many bullets or they are dead. >> many veterans are upset about that, including here in pennsylvania? >> i didn't hear that. when i say better, i would rather get it, because those that get that are horribly wounded or dead, and they are often dead, and they get it

posthumously. it's a painful thing to get it. when you get the presidential medal of freedom, it's for others things like you achieved great success in sports or someplace else. >> that didn't really explain it. that's like somebody asking about the flat earth, and he said, no, what i meant was it's not round. didn't really explain thataway. >> given a layup to say, hey, a lot of veterans are upset, and a lot are upset about that. >> i hear so many people, not just on the trump side of the republican party but people in the media all the time, oh, he's just joking. oh, he's just joking. i heard he's just joking about a

dictatorship from day one and sean hannity asks him to clean it up, and he repeats it. here, he talks about, you know, this, and is asked to clean it up and he repeats it. it's just like, he's not joking and i don't understand why people in the media and others are trying to explain the other things. >> the rambling is getting worse, and he just talks to filibuster to not be asked a question that perhaps he can't answer. he will do it at the debate, note to democrats, that he will just talk and go in five different rambling directions, seemingly maybe a little confused or somebody could say that looks like the on set of something, but it's his strategy

to talk about nothing. >> i was going to say, jonathan lemire, he's had the onset of something since 1979, so i don't think it's that. trump is off balance, and he's off balance because he has been a disrupter all his life and his campaign has been disrupted and he's off balance. there are 80, 85 days left, and if democrats think this is the donald trump they are going to get for the next two or three months, they are sadly mistaken. it's her convention right now and he's off balance for a variety of reasons. let's also remember. so much has happened that, you know, that assassination attempt has to be weighing on his mind and it would be weighing on anybody's mind right now. this summer he went through a trial where he was found guilty,

and he's -- but he had to sit there for, what, weeks and weeks -- >> 34 felony counts. >> yeah, so again, i'm just saying he's off balance right now. democrats would be making a huge mistake to think that this is the donald trump they are going to get between now and election day. >> who knows? >> yeah, people i talk to confirm that, that he is off balance and adjusting to the change of the top of the ticket and spent years thinking he's running against joe biden and now he's not. the trial did weigh on him and he still has a sentencing coming up in a couple weeks and the assassination attempt as well and they are trying to figure out how to hold the outdoor rallies again and it's something that does weigh on him as he was inches away from death, and -- >> let me ask you, also, and -- i am sorry, you don't have to

answer, but would you trust the secret service? if i were any candidate running, i wouldn't trust the secret service. you look at the mistakes they made and the requests they denied, and that has to be in his head as well and still it was the worst secret service screw-up since jfk was killed. >> it could not not be on his mind. he will be appearing, officials say, behind bullet proof glass going forward. to your first point, democrats can't get complacent and over confident. trump will adjust. that's a message we heard from both obamas who were both so good in their speeches, but hit

a point and i am not sure everybody in the audience wanted to hear because it has been so joyous, but hard days are ahead, there are going to be curveballs coming and trump will adjust and this is going to be a battle and be really close. >> and joining us now, democratic senator, mark kelly, of arizona, and he's a retired navy combat pilot and astronaut, and sits on five different committees including armed services, and good to have you on the show. we would like to get your reaction to donald trump's comment on the medal, and also on tim walz' service. what is your reaction? >> on the first part, from what i hear from donald trump are the words of a coward, a man that would not serve in the u.s. military and makes up an excuse

about bone spurs, and got out of serving in vietnam and he clearly doesn't understand us, doesn't understand members of our society who served in the military. i spent 25 years in the united states navy. i think the concept of putting something before self is totally foreign to donald trump. you got to ask the question, you know, why? i think he thinks of -- he puts people in two categories. you are either the con or the person getting conned, and he thinks those of us who served are the folks getting conned and we were somehow tricked into serving in the military, which is not the case. people serve for all different kinds of reasons. i think the vfw, of which i am a member of, summed this up really

well, and they said his comments were completely asinine. on governor walz, i have known him for a long time and he's a patriot and served in the army national guard for 24 years and he's a retired member of the national guard and enlisted in the highest ranks and he's a good friend and patriot. donald trump doesn't understand governor walz, and i would expect j.d. vance to, and i am disappointed about his comments about walz' service. >> some senators saying governor walz needs to answer for comments when he said he carried a weapon of war. do you have any concern about the way governor walz talked about his service? >> i think in that one case he

misspoke. he served over 20 years in the army national guard. every one of us that served understands when you reach 20 years of service, you get to retire and you get to decide when you retire. it's ridiculous to contend that, you know, there's another option there. that is completely on you, and i spent 25 years in the navy and some spend 35 years, senior admirals and generals, 35 years in the service in some cases. his service to our country was incredibly honorable for decades, and i served with j.d. vance in the united states senate, and very disappointing to me. i didn't see this letter, but i will say that governor walz has a career of public service. i mean, even as a teacher, you

have to give teachers a tremendous amount of credit for their service to our nation. as a teacher and a member of the house of representatives, and served with my wife, they were freshmen together. he's a great guy and a great addition to the ticket. kamala harris and tim walz are going to win this election. they are the folks that need to lead us into the future. donald trump just wants to drag this country back into the past. >> senator and navy veteran, mark kelly, of arizona, thank you very much for your thoughts this morning. thank you for coming on the show. >> anytime. all right. still to come, a break from politics. when the world's fastest man joins us live in studio, gold medalist, noah lyles, he will join us on "morning joe," but first we will look at republicans supporting kamala

harris and criticizing former president trump, and we will show you the vice president's message to packed arenas last night in chicago and milwaukee. >> delegates and alternates, let us commence with a call of the roll of the states. >> delegates, are you ready? let me hear you! ♪ ♪ >> iowa, 40 delegates. ♪ ♪ >> georgia, 59 delegates. ♪ ♪

>> west virginia, 32 votes, president donald j. trump. >> dnc people, come on ♪ ♪ dnc people, come on ♪ ♪ >> thank you, delegates. >> it's time for us to do the right thing and that is to elect kamala harris as the next president of the united states of america. >> a tale of two roll calls. the democratic national convention turned into what is usually a lifeless event into a party as delegates pledge support for vice president harris, and a deejay playing top

tracks to each state and territory, and when georgia was called, lil john performed his hits songs, and when california casts the final votes for her, it was timed perfectly with harris walking onstage in milwaukee with a rally of about 15,000 people there, and the vice president then addressed the two packed arenas at the same time. >> good evening, milwaukee! and hello to everyone joining us from exciting chicago, the delegates at the democratic national convention, well, they just completed their roll call and they have nominated coach walz and me to be the next vice

president and president of the united states of america. [ applause ] >> and i thank everybody there and here for believing what we can do together. we are so honored to be your nominees. this is a people-powered campaign, and together we will chart a new way forward. >> wow. >> and that was just the beginning. >> just -- wow. willie, you talk about a show of force, a show of power. that was -- that was impressive. i don't think i have ever seen anything like that before. i mean, 15,000 in milwaukee, just packed, and then, you know, in chicago, also, at the convention. wow, that was crazy. >> yeah, 20,000 in chicago and 15,000 in milwaukee.

perfect stage craft as well. >> yes. >> by the way, when lil jon is doing your roll call for the state, and then he was on "the apprentice" and turned his back on donald trump. >> if you are looking at the contrast between the republican convention and the democratic convention roll call, what you are looking at is when eddie and lil john get together on the weekend, and mine is like more of -- >> the guy spinning the record is deejay cassidy, and everybody in the country wants that play list. i was partial to new jersey, he went with springsteen, and governor phil murphy said we are representing the great state of new jersey and you are not.

>> you got it. we have eddie vaughn jr., and ed puck, and john heilemann, the host of "way too early," jonathan lemire. >> let me say on central time zone, and the name of the show brings with it an extra sting early -- >> way too early. way, way, way too early. >> and then host of msnbc's "politics nation," reverend al sharpton is with us as well. >> do you remember denver when we -- that was two hours earlier. >> yeah, 2008. >> so you were getting up maybe at 1:00 a.m. to get ready for "way too early." >> yeah, i did "way too early" once from the vancouver olympics, and -- >> you were the true founder. >> but obviously that -- the

roll call was fun and the energy was real and the arena was packed, but then that was just the opening act for the headliners, michelle and barack obama. >> and, boy, did michelle bring it. former first lady, michelle obama, gave a powerful 21-minute speech taking on donald trump on issues of race and gender. in her remarks she touched on her family's history and the importance of this election. >> something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn't it? yeah. you know, we're feeling it here in this arena, but it's spreading all across this country we love, a familiar feeling that has been buried too deep for far too long. you know what i'm talking about. it's the contagious power of

hope. the anticipation, the energy, the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day, the chance to live the dream that our parents and grandparents fought and died and sacrificed for. america, hope is making a comeback. my girl, kamala harris, is more than ready for this moment. she is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency.

and she is one of the most dignified, a tribute to her mother, my mother and to your mother, too. the embodiment of the stories we tell ourselves about this country, her story is your story, it's my story. it's the story of the vast majority of americans trying to build a better life. she understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. we will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. if we bankrupt a business -- if we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don't get a

second, third or fourth chance. if things don't go our way, we don't have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead, no. we don't get to change the rules so we always win. if we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top, no. unfortunately we know what comes next. we know folks are going to do everything they can to distort her truth. my husband and i sadly know a little something about this. for years donald trump did everything in his power to try and make people fear us. see, his limited narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of

two hard working highly educated successful people who happen to be black. i want to know, who's going to tell him the job he's seeking might be one of those black jobs. it's up to us to remember what kamala's mother told her, don't just sit around and complain, do something. so if they lie about her, and they will, we have to do something. if we see a bad poll, and we will, we have to put down the phone and do something. if we start feeling tired and feel that dread coming back in, we have to sit up and throw water on our face and what? >> do something! >> consider this to be your official ask, michelle obama is asking you -- no, i'm telling y'all to do something.

because -- >> michelle obama, eddie, rocked the night and was speaking to not just the young people across the nation, and i think it was the young people across the nation that were feeling very, very brought down in the, i don't know, last eight years, covid and the impact it has had on our kids, and she brought people up and said, come on, it's on us. >> hope is on the line and it's making a comeback, and she did it with her arms out, that sleeveless outfit. it was important for her, the reluctant warrior to come out onstage and offer that defense, and we don't benefit from the

affirmative action of generational wealth. what a great line. so i thought she understood. when they go low, we go high, and no, when they go low we fight back, and she fought back last night. >> rev, you were there as well, and president obama made that same speech when he said we don't want to live in the country donald trump has been showing us, we don't want to be divided and, in fact, we're not. something we say on the show all the time, we are not in the way donald trump says we are and so let's not be that way and let's have hope make that comeback. >> i think that the electricity you saw here last night, and i -- my opinion, it electrified people around the country, is that we are not dealing with

grievance and not dealing with the fact that some of us are in unfair situations as we consider it, and they reignited this hope that we are better than this and can do better than this and we can strive to make this country better, and we have done so in the past. i couldn't help about think when senator and candidate obama brought the center stage, and i was in that convention, and 20 years later they are bringing us back to the same phraeupblg of saying we will not surrender to despair and turning on each other and through hope we can reunite the country and go to the next chapter. >> first of all, we can't underscore enough the reception they received in the hometown of chicago, and democrats happy to see them again and how powerful

each were, in part, because we don't hear from them. barack obama famously dislikes politics, and we see her at a convention every four years and barack obama said he will be on the road in october, and when he does talk his words will carry more weight. there are two things of note here that struck me. ones as we sort of have gotten to already, the idea of hope and a positive message and the idea that the voters that vice president harris needs to reach, it's not enough to scare them into not voting for donald trump, we need to inspire them to vote for kamala harris, and both obamas spoke to momentum. they said, look, democrats feel good right now but they warned that very hard days are ahead. the other side will do whatever it takes they need to win and democrats need to run up the score in order to get through

this. >> yeah, yeah, and i think, jonathan, that's right. i will tell you, i think -- you know, there was a total difference between the two of them. they were working in tandem, but there was a total difference and an important one. you know, i think michelle obama, as a political piece of information, i can't think i have seen anybody do it better than i saw her do it last night. she's in the -- that's the upper echelon that any speech anybody has given, and she's one of the most important political figures in the country, and she's beyond politics. she's -- her credibility comes with the fact that people rightly, correctly believe that she takes the stage reluctantly

because she does not see politics as a game and she doesn't see it as a game she wants to partake in, and she only comes out because she thinks the stakes are so high. and michelle robinson from working class chicago speaks in a different vernacular, and directness of her message to a lot of people in the democratic coalition, which was, there's no time for fooling around here, and none of the goldilocks stuff where we have to have the perfect candidate. don't get precious about whether anybody has asked you enough times to go out and do what you have to do here. i'm telling you the stakes are really high and you need to work now. stop screwing around. her directness, very powerful, i thought. the second thing with barack obama, to your point and to rev's point, the echos of the 2004 speech were really clear, and i think one of the things

that both obamas, even though they took calibrated shots at donald trump, there were efforts to go beyond that and try to have a conversation about the many, many, many people in the middle who don't work for trump but are tired of trump and everything about our polarized politics for the past 20 years, and had you heard barack obama saying we don't want to be part of a divided country, and that actually -- his attacks on trump were in a couple places acute but were restrained and he was very much, i think, try to move the convention in a direction away from its -- people enjoy in this setting beating up donald trump, and no reason they shouldn't and they rightly do, but i think barack obama was trying to get back to an earlier kind of obama politics, which was about the politics of disagreeing without being

disagreeable, and that was part of the electorate that kamala harris will need to reach in order to win. >> coming up, we will hear from the other obama that spoke last night, the 44th -- >> the other obama? the president? >> she was really good. that is next on "morning joe." announcer: kamala harris was given one important job as vice president - monitor and control our southern border. how did she do?

did she take the job seriously? did she do all she could to protect american citizens from an invasion? did she do anything at all? lester: you haven't been to the border. harris: and i haven't been to europe. i don't understand the point that you're making. announcer: here's her grim score card: murders, rapes, attacks on children. a 12-year-old girl in texas. a mother of five in maryland. a nursing student in georgia. all savagely murdered by those biden and harris let into our country unlawfully. harris: we have a secure border. announcer: kamala harris was and is a complete failure at her job. now she's asking us for a promotion. who in their right mind would give it to her? restoration pac is responsible for the content of this advertising.

last night was a special night, mika, because as -- as just mentioned, the obamas don't get out as much as the democrats would like them to get out, and they are frustrated, why aren't you out more? the fact that they do hold their political fire as much as they do make evenings like last night so special, so when you see michelle obama come out and you see barack obama come out, it has such an impact, in a way that, as john said, very few others have. and michelle obama last night lit it up in a way, again, that very few people at conventions

have lit it up. you certainly put it up there with barack obama's 2004 speech, or with reagan's 1980 speech, with ted kennedy's speech in i believe 1980 also at the democratic national convention. it was an extraordinary speech, and barack obama's as well. i love the message, too. >> yeah. >> the message that we are going to have bad polls ahead. everybody is so excited right now and everybody is so joyful right now. bad polls are ahead. bad news is ahead. this is going to be a tough battle to the very end. it's an incredibly important message because i have found not being a democrat, being an independent, i have found -- in fact, when i was a republican the democrats get easily deflated, like, ah, we don't

deserve good things. i was impressed by the stories of barack obama in 2008 and he would go to the back of the bus and ask what are you doing, and they were fretting over a new poll, and it was, just, basically, just shut up and work, and he didn't say shut up but he would say i don't want to hear it, i am going back to the front of the bus and let's control what we can control. i would say, mika, that may be one reason why barack obama with michelle obama were the only democratic candidates, the only democratic president to get elected two times with a majority of the vote going back, i think, to fdr. >> well, and look at the people who you compared her speech with, and this is a woman that doesn't even like politics, as you pointed out, eddie.

man, she's got some skills, for sure. here now is some of the keynote address from former president, barack obama. >> chicago! it's good to be home. it is good to be home, and i don't know about you, but i'm feeling fired up. i am feeling ready to go. even if -- even if i am the only person stupid enough to speak after michelle obama. i am feeling hopeful. because this convention has

always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible. now, the torch has been passed. now it is up to all of us to fight for the america we believe in. and make no mistake, it will be a fight. for all the incredible energy we have been able to generate over the last few weeks, for all the rallies and the memes -- huh, this will still be a tightly race in a closely divided country. and as we gather here tonight, the people who will decide this election are asking a very simple question, who will fight for me? who's thinking about my future,

about my children's future, and about our future together? one thing is for certain. donald trump is not losing sleep over that question. here's a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago, and it has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that has actually been getting worse now that he's afraid of losing to kamala. there's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd

sizes -- >> the other day i heard a confession from a neighbor that is blowing his belief blower every day, and from a neighbor that's exhausting. from a president it's just dangerous. the truth is donald trump sees power as nothing more than a means to his end. he wants the middle class to pay the price for another huge tax cut that would mostly help him and his rich friends. he doesn't seem to care if more women lose their reproductive freedom since it won't affect his life. and most of all, donald trump

wants us to think that this country is hopelessly divided between us and them. between the real americans, who, of course, support him, and the outsiders who don't. and he wants you to think that you will be richer and safer if you will just give him the power to put those other people back in their place. it is one of the oldest tricks in politics, from a guy whose act has gotten, let's face it, pretty stale. we do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. we have seen that movie before and we all know that the sequel is usually worse. kamala harris won't be focused

on her problems, she'll be focused on yours. as president she won't just cater to her own support and punish those who refuse to kiss the ring or bend the knee. she will work on behalf of every american. that's who kamala is. >> and that was a little glance down at his hands when talking about crowd size there, and the subtext is the kamala harris hairets his man actual. >> i think the line about the sequel is always worse is ominous, because when you look

at what already has been done as a result of the trump administration to women's lives and to women's health, it's frightening, actually, when you think about it. two incredible speeches. we are also going to hear from doug emhoff, and so we have that still ahead. also still ahead on "morning joe," why republicans had a starring role last night at the democrats' convention. that's straight ahead on "morning joe." hi, my name is damian clark. if you have both medicare and medicaid, i have some really encouraging news that you'll definitely want to hear. depending on the plans available in your area, you may be eligible to get extra benefits with a humana medicare advantage dual-eligible special needs plan. all these plans include a healthy options allowance,

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♪ ♪ the dnc is featuring a number of republicans this week in an effort to sway swing voters. former georgia lieutenant

governor, jeff duncan, and former congressman, adam kinzinger, and olivia troye will be speaking today and tomorrow, and a few spoke yesterday slamming donald trump. >> behind closed doors trump mockings his supporters and calls them basement dwellers. he was mad in the icu the cameras were not watching him. he has no empathy, no morals and no fidelity for the truth. he used to tell me it doesn't matter what you say, stephanie, say it enough and people will believe you. but it does matter. what you say matter, and what you don't say matters.

when i was press secretary i got skewered for never holding a white house briefing because unlike my boss i never wanted to stand at that podium and lie, and now here i am behind a podium speaking for a democrat, and that's because i love my country more than my party. kamala harris tells the truth and respect the american people and she has my vote. >> i have a confession to make. i'm a life-long republican. so i feel a little out of place tonight, but i feel more at home here than in today's republican party. the grand old party has been kidnapped by extremist and evolved into a cult, the cult of donald trump. i have a message for a majority

of americans, who, like me, are in the republican middle. john mccain's republican party is gone and we don't own what has been left behind. >> the white house press secretary saying on january 26th, 2021, she said we need to -- she was asking melania to do that and she replied, simply, no. and then roy cooper will join us live from chicago in the fourth hour of "morning joe." ♪ ♪

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♪

♪ ♪ welcome back. while democrats were spreading a message, donald trump was delivering a very dower speech and making false claims about crime under the biden/harris administration. >> just about every law enforcement group in the country has endorsed us as you probably heard. there's a reason for that. because i believe in law enforcement and the others don't. i keep the suburbs safe, and i stop low income towers from rising alongside of their house, and i am keeping the illegal aliens away from the suburbs.

in 2019 there was zero, and now you have thousands of terrorists coming into our country. these are the people that blew up the world trade center. bad things will happen. they don't arrest people anymore, and they shouldn't arrest people for saying the election was rigged, but they like that. they go after guys like me but don't go after people that kill people. >> donald trump's, of course, describing the plot of fort apache, the bronx, it's a great movie -- >> great reference. >> great reference, too, but bears no resemblance to what happens now. he said you get shot if you walk across the street -- >> or raped. >> -- or raped, if you walk across the street to get a piece

of bread. i know it irritates those that support donald trump, but if crime keeps going on the trajectory that it's going right now, it's going to be lower than it was -- violent crime, in 1950. crime is going until an extraordinarily positive direction right now. we have seen inflation continuing to go down. again, i just don't know how many times i can say this, but it needs to be repeated because republicans lie so much about immigration. illegal border crossings were at a 50-year low when obama left office and donald trump became president of the united states. it skyrocketed after barack obama left office. remember, he was called deporter

in chief. remember that? there's a reason. because illegal border crossings under obama/biden were at a 50 year low and then donald trump took office and they started to skyrocket. i understand that facts don't matter for so many people who support donald trump because how could they if you are still supporting donald trump? we could go down the long, long list of things he said and things he has done. i have to say that stephanie email to melania, saying should we say the protests should be peaceful, and her response was no, and that really shows how corrosive, how corrosive that

administration was and the people around donald trump. it's inexplicable. it's inexplicable that anybody, any president, any first lady, anybody associated with the white house would not call for peaceful protests, and yet there you have it, at least the president and the first lady, no. i will say everybody else around donald trump, including his children were desperately trying to get through to him saying -- >> stop. >> -- tell them to stop. fox news hosts that would go on that night and defend donald trump after the riots, after the four dead cops, they would defend donald trump, but while it was happening, they were desperately asking him for it to stop. his lawyers begging him to tell them to stop and he wouldn't do

it, so it's -- i guess facts really just don't matter, unfortunately, to so many. john heilemann, you look at what happened last night, and you look at donald trump's event yesterday and then the day before was strange, they were strange, very dower and very rambling events. >> lost in time. >> you look at all of the shots at the convention, the democratic convention, and -- you know, republicans are saying this. you see joy. you see smiles. you see optimism, that sort of sunny optimism ronald reagan showed in 1980 and 1984, and that was in contrast to democrats at that time. talk about the tale of these two

campaigns right now in august as we move toward labor day and beyond when the real campaign starts. >> well, i think there's two pieces to that, joe, and one piece is, you know -- and this is a topic we have come back to again and again and you can't say it enough times. the flip side of what the obamas were saying and what we pointed out this morning and you pointed out, it's going to be a close race, et cetera, and it's going to be a close race in the other direction also. that means all of these people who are around donald trump trying desperately over the course of the last five weeks now since kamala harris became we must be focussed. we must have a message. you need to get it together, man. it's now five solid weeks he's

not able to be focussed, disciplined. he's not able to be energetic. we raised this question last week. is it not clear that donald trump's cognitive decline, mental acuity, age-related diminishment, lack of energy, the things that, whether you like trump or not, back in 2016 there were times he could be a feral beast as a political athlete. it's not there anymore. it bodes ill for the republican campaign, not on many of the moral and ethical grounds that we rightly raise, but on the level of can this candidate who is so central to this campaign -- there is no campaign without donald trump. if he's not performing at some level of basic discipline rigor, focus, there's no way the republican candidate, given all the momentum on the democratic side, there's no way donald trump can win. what you see on the democratic

side now is focus, energy and discipline. the second thing is -- i know we'll talk about doug emhoff. the democratic convention and doug emhoff's speech with his blended family, his son said we don't look like every other family that's been in the white house, but we can represent all american families. that's right. that's what american families look like now. they feel like today -- that feels -- the picture of the democratic convention is a picture that looks like what america looks like in 2024 and what it's going to look like going forward. a lot of what you see on the republican side is yesterday's news. that's a powerful thing for the democratic campaign that's trying to align itself with the future. you got to start with a party and a campaign and candidate and a family that looks like today. that's what the harris family looks like. that's what the democratic convention looks like. that's the opposite of what you

see in this old, dilapidated, tired, sagging republican campaign on donald trump's side. it's boring. it looks like yesterday. coming up, the senate's top democratic, majority leader chuck schumer will be our guest. we'll talk about his address last night at the dnc and a look at ahead at what's in store today. that's up right ahead on "morning joe." plus try centrum silver, now clinically proven to support memory in older adults. if you have this... consider adding this. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. medicare supplement plans help by paying some of what medicare doesn't... and let you see any doctor. any specialist. anywhere in the u.s. who accepts medicare patients. so if you have this... consider adding this. call unitedhealthcare today for your free decision guide.

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look, kamala knows, like we do, that regardless of where you come from, what you look like, who you love, how you worship or what's in your bank account, we all deserve the opportunity to build a decent life. all of our contributions deserve to be accepted and valued. because no one has a monopoly on

what it means to be an american. no one. >> coming up, why this week's dnc will be remembered long into the future. author and historian, walter isaacson weighs in on that when "morning joe" comes right back. n e eligible to get extra benefits with a humana medicare advantage dual-eligible special needs plan. all these plans include a healthy options allowance. a monthly allowance to help pay for eligible groceries, utilities, rent, and over-the-counter items like vitamins, pain relievers, first-aid supplies and more. the healthy options allowance is loaded onto a prepaid card each month. and whatever you don't spend, carries over from each month. other benefits on these plans include free rides to and from your medical appointments. you pay nothing for covered

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we want to remind all our delegate, alternate and guests that maintaining order during the roll call is extremely important. >> ladies and gentlemen, my name is dee jay cassidy. i would like to welcome you all to the democratic national convention roll call! >> pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules of procedures of this convention, maryland, 37 votes, president trump.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> maryland, how do you cast your vote? >> we are maryland! >> pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, california, 169 votes president trump. ♪♪ ♪♪ >> california, how do you cast your vote? >> pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, indiana, 58 votes, president trump. ♪♪ ♪♪

>> indiana, how do you cast your vote? >> okay. that was a look at two very different roll calls, but happened the same year. last night the dnc turned it into a dance party with songs for each state and territory, including a memorable performance by award-winning rapper 'lil john representing georgia. vice president harris was 90 miles north of the windy city. perfectly timing her walk-out to a crowd of, oh, say, 15,000 people in milwaukee. >> we have to understand something. this is not 2016 or 2020. in particular, the stakes are higher for a lot of reasons because we know what he does when he's in office. but including that, last month the supreme court of the united states basically told the former

president that he will effectively be immune -- [ crowd booing ] -- for what he does in the white house. >> jonathan lemire, eddie broad jr. still with us. joining us is ari melber and professor of history at tulane university, the great walter isaacson. >> walter, we'll get to you in a second about high-minded stuff. ari, thank you for being here. just walk us through what we saw. >> i'm happy to turn down for what right here on "morning joe." i loved what your team and you put together on the contrast. there are political parties and then there are parties. what you just showed us in the side by side is how this is a party. on the one hand it's culture, fun, inclusive. on the other hand, this is what conventions are supposed to be. you're telling a story to america. people watching are not just

getting a gloom and doom story about the other side and a bio update on kamala harris, which is part of the convention, they're getting the feeling of i like that side. i like how fun it is. the genres spanned everything from '60s and '70s. i thought it told a larger story. >> a larger story and walter isaacson, let's talk the history of 2024 and what we are seeing here. it seems every two weeks more sort of boundaries are broken historically. things that, you know, we just don't expect to happen and here we have the first democrat to not go through the primary process since lbj i guess. it just -- yeah, it's incredible

what's happening right now. try to put it in perspective for us. >> well, you know, as you were just saying you need to create the narrative. you need to create the vibe. the narrative that's been created is this is about the future. we aren't going back. that's hard to do when you sort of have the incumbent. you talk about the songs that were played, the notion of freedom, recapturing that flag of freedom, the only thing i think they did wrong is my home state, louisiana, they should have done john baptiste's freedom anthem. >> so much to choose from from new orleans in fairness. walter is writing his next book on 'lil john's place in the atlantic crunk movement.

eddie, let's talk about what we're seeing. today is one month since joe biden dropped out of the race. in the days and weeks before that, since the debate there was despair, loathing in the democratic party. some people conceding, all right, we have to figure out how to live with donald trump as president. we have to keep the senate, win the house. now everything has been flipped 180 degrees. >> there was a feeling we were being choked by the past. that we were going to be suffocated by our worser angels as it were. every time kamala harris walks into a room she represents an interesting source of the possibility of the nation just by who she is. this is who we could be. this is who we can be. there's future built in, baked it. now you have to give it content. last night that roll call, you

go cross generations. there's baby boomers there, millennials, gen-x, gen-z. you had the sense of the cross section of america. it was limited. it wasn't constrained and con contained. >> as i look at the milwaukee event, and you look at the convention this week, you see that democrats are now taking from republicans symbols, words, phrases. you know, while donald trump is talking about how bad america is, how we're a failing nation, how we're a nation in decline, how we're a stupid nation, all things he's said, then you look at the democratic side and they're chanting usa with signs held high in the air. it's like a republican convention from the 1980s, 1990s.

then for me -- walter mentioned it. if you're from the south and you're a republican or you're a conservative, there is one word that has stuck out in campaign after campaign and argument against the democrats and it's the word freedom. when i see that word freedom in milwaukee, i see the democratic party stepping forward in a way and stepping through a door that donald trump and the united states supreme court opened up for democrats to take that word freedom from the republicans and hold it high in a banner to say, no, we are not going to let the federal government control your body. we are not going to force 10-year-old girls to have to carry their rapist's -- >> baby. >> -- to term.

and then have a state-forced birth for a 10-year-old girl. we're not going to do any of that. we're not going to turn our eyes to women who are bleeding out outside of emergency rooms and they've done that. i think one of the more compelling things i've seen this year -- in a focus group there was a libertarian saying, wait a second, i don't think the government can do a whole hell of a lot. now republicans are telling me that they can take control of people's bodies and take control of health care. this libertarian said, okay, they're doing it to women this year. what are they doing to the rest of us next year? it's compelling. freedom. >> the past year has been a lesson on what abortion is. it's health care. it's not the republicans' old tired and quite frankly fake

definition of a woman running around being a tramp and not wanting to have the baby because they're too lazy. that's their definition. their other lie-filled definition is that women are having abortions in the ninth month. it doesn't happen. abortion health care is for women who need help, who need to deal with an ectopic pregnancy or fetal abnormalities that will render them sterilize and traumatize the family along the way because brought to term the child dies in their arms. they truly have taken back the mantle of what freedom means, the democrats, saying we're going to restore your freedoms, your freedom to be healthy. there will be republican women and republican families across the country that feel this way as well, that believe it's crazy what's happening to women in america right now.

it's sick. >> there's no doubt pre-dobbs republicans would just run around and say baby killer, baby killer. that was their -- you try to have -- >> ninth month. >> the debate about abortion, they come back with baby killer. post-dobbs, suddenly we're finding it's mothers that have two children that are trying to get help because the baby's not going to be taken to term and there's going to be significant physical problems. like i said, young girls being raped, young girls being victims of incest. suddenly you actually -- americans get a better chance to see just how complex this issue is many timetimes. >> yeah, one such woman was in a

roll announcement. kamala harris has spoken about individual cases. joe said it's a bit like the '80s republican conventions with some of the american spirit. it's a bit like the reagan revolution that the democrats are now riding where they're able to credibly say to the country, these judges have gone nuts. >> yeah. >> and they are out of step and there is an inner play between the courts and politics. it's not supposed to be that politics determines everything the court does. but, one of the things the republican party did very well in the '80s and beyond was ride the idea that parts of the supreme court has lost step with america. i don't think you need to be a poling expert or watch all the stuff since dobbs to see that's absolutely flipped. that is why republicans find themselves -- because of the supreme court and the agenda they demanded for decades -- out of step from kansas to purple

states to the blue as well. >> let's be very clear about this. about 70% of americans have been opposed to the overturning of roe v. wade for decades. >> yeah. >> and so you have 70% of americans against the overturning of a 50-year precedent and suddenly you get the reaction, like you said, in kansas, in kentucky, from state to state. i would guess in florida and in other swing states where they're going to be voting on the ballot this november to bring back the rights of women to make health care choices. >> yeah. voters talk back. justice alito had this extremely snide section of that ruling where he reversed 49 years of precedent. he said, if anyone doesn't like it, women have had the right to vote for a while now.

i'm paraphrasing. women can vote on this if they choose. it was very alito. it had that elitist, snide, misogynistic tilt. guess what, justice alito, women and men are talking back and voting on this in cycle. >> we haven't even talked about ivf. trump and vance just honestly aren't where most people are. people they know very close to them have used ivf. two of the biggest stars of the democratic party took to the stage last night in chicago, and they did not disappointment. nbc news white house vice president peter alexander has more of the highlights from day two. >> reporter: former president obama and former first lady michelle obama providing a

one-two punch at the dnc. >> i'm feeling fired up. >> america, hope is making a come back. >> reporter: starting with michelle obama electrifying the delegates. >> this is the time to stand up, not just for our basic freedoms, but for decency and humanity. >> reporter: and providing the takedown of mr. trump. >> his limited narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard working, highly educated successful people who happen to be black. who's going to tell him the job he's seeking might be one of those black jobs? >> reporter: mr. obama following his wife. >> i'm the only person stupid

enough to speak after michelle obama. >> reporter: anointing harris to a successor of a move he started in 2008. >> this convention has always been good to kids with funny names. >> reporter: while delivering his own attacks against mr. trump. >> the people who will decide this election are asking a very simple question -- who will fight for me? who's thinking about my future? donald trump is not losing sleep over that question. here's a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago. there's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes. >> reporter: the obamas'

speeches following a heart-felt address from doug emhoff, discussing what he called their blended family and describing his first awkward phone call to harris. >> i got kamala's voice mail and just started rambling. hey, it's doug. >> reporter: earlier democrats putting a new spin on the roll call vote featuring a dee jay and a surprise performance by rapper 'lil john. the vice president speaking from a packed milwaukee arena 90 miles away, the same venue where mr. trump recently accepted the republican nomination. >> we are so honored to be your nominees. >> peter alexander reporting there. senator majority leader chuck schumer rallied democrats last night at the convention. he did a bit of a dance. >> oh, look at this. >> come on. >> get it, senator, as he made his way to the podium during the

address. he threw his support behind kamala harris and made a bold predictions that democrats would not only contain but expand their control of the senate. leader schumer joins us now. i'm sure your staff is aware you're the subject of many memes this morning for that dance. >> oh, man, let me tell you, willie, it's a happy convention and i was so happy. >> we saw it. leader schumer, first, we can talk about kamala harris in just a moment and the renewed hope that is the democrats will hold on to the white house. from where you're sitting, part of the concern i know about president biden staying in the race was for your hold on the senate and what it would mean down ballot. what has the change at the top of this ticket meant for your hopes around those elections? >> well, you know, truth be told our senate candidates in our battleground states were even ahead when -- before president

biden in an act of courage and strength and humility said he wasn't running. now they're ahead by more. the numbers are hard to believe. our candidates are up 10, 12, 18 points. why is that? just what you said. give that producer who showed the beginning clips of the contrast of the conventions a raise. that was fabulous. the bottom line is that the public is on our side. they don't want to go back to trump. one, the democrats are moving forward in a positive, happy, unified way. i've been to every convention since 1984 in san francisco. this is not only the happiest convention, the most unified, but the most intent on winning. we know the danger of donald trump. so do so many american voters who are in the middle who couldn't decide between biden and trump, but now are clearly moving in harris' direction.

just one more thing. she has her hand on the pulse -- her finger on the pulse of what people need. one of the most brilliant thing she did was the $25,000 payment for buying a new home. housing is a huge problem in america. one of the biggest problems is that younger people have is not that they can't afford the monthly mortgage payment, but they don't have the money for a downpayment. this $25,000 is going to be huge. not just in urban areas. rural america faces a housing crisis too. there's so much here. we just feel so damn good. what can i tell you? >> leader schumer, good morning. no doubt democrats and your senate candidates have momentum. the map for the upper chamber is challenging. you caught me off guard that you said the democrats had the chance not just to hold, but expand the majority in the senate. where do you see that happening?

west virginia, ohio, montana, that's hard to hold. where else do you think you can win? >> you guys talked about freedom and choice. if you take eight battleground states, the six we must win with incumbents. four of them have abortion on the ballot. the issue of freedom appeals to a lot of red states. some of these western states are libertarian in that they don't want anyone telling them what to do with their guns, but they don't want anyone, particularly the government, telling them what to do with women's bodies. that's why the numbers are 70%. that's a good chunk of republicans. >> walter isaacson. you were talking about freedom is more than reproductive freedom. it's the mantra of what they're saying. tim walz does it well with the

mind your own damn business. it's the freedom to read what you want, love who you want, what was said throughout the convention. can you expand on how this freedom cuts across many areas? >> it cuts across areas beyond the issue of choice, who you want to marry and how you want to engage in that way. it also -- there's a different type of freedom. you know, freedom -- when trump talks about freedom, he's talking about freedom and president obama did this very well last night -- freedom of the very wealthy to do whatever the hell they want. if you want to have a decent paying job for your family, you need to have a decent education. you don't have the freedom to pick any job you want. this area of giving people choices, not telling them what to do, but giving them choices, i think will extend into the economic arena as well, not just in housing, but job training. we have a rapidly moving world. obama was very smart to focus on

that. in that world people's freedoms to have a good life that they want are less available unless we help them. that doesn't mean picking and choosing, but providing ladders up. that's going to, especially with this newer generation, have a real point to it, a real sharpness to it that's going to help us. >> senator majority leader chuck schumer of new york, more dancing please. >> oh, i'm dancing sitting in my seat here. i've never been to a better convention. wow, they've done such a great job. it's also, you know, just one more thing. the negative is we know we can't have donald trump as president. more and more americans are realizing that. it's not only what we're doing and our happiness, but our optimism in the future. it's also the fear of going

back. one of the best chance we had is when our candidate from maryland said we won't go back and the whole place was up. >> senator, thank you very much for being on the show. >> i was thinking about the issue of freedom. one of the interesting things -- barack obama alluded to this. it was the way in which they're reading the declaration of independence into the constitution. this is lincoln's big insight where the basic principles of the declaration of independence reads into the constitution which says all men are created equal. freedom is articulated in this way. ari, given all the excitement we've seen over the last two days, what do you expect from governor walz and then vice president harris in the coming days, tonight and tomorrow? what do you think they have to do in order to bring this home?

>> i think governor walz is still introducing himself to the country. he's still a very new figure. i think you'll get the vibe that's more familiar to us. i think harris has to build on this embrace. sometimes we get politicians out here and there's no better booking than the top of the democratic party on "morning joe" with chuck schumer. he's on message. it's true they're unified. we've seen the conventions where the leftovers from the primaries or the sanders team or any number of disputes are visible. >> none other than karl rove keeps saying that. he says republicans usually fall in line. democrats fall in love. this is the first time in his lifetime he's seen the democratic party fall in line while they're falling in love. >> i like that. exactly, joe. >> really good. >> that's something that can only be stage managed so much.

>> right. >> i've been to about four conventions and you see those signs when you look up and they have the we love joe sign and then -- that's coming from the party. they're distributed. we get it. in '16 you had a lot of sanders folks in anger over the primary. remember the democratic chair stepped down during the convention over leaked emails from a foreign power. we can relive all the nightmares. this isn't that. last night you had bernie sanders building on aoc. you had an executive from american express close to kamala harris. you were stitching together the economic diversity of the party as well and finding ways to not pretend they agree on everything, but to show they're unified. i think harris will tap into that. the last thing about this great barack obama speech, it was a book end from his original convention speech, but updated for today. he said we have the algorithms

and the desire to build walls and we ask why we're so lonely. you could have that conversation with him at brunch or dinner if you're lucky enough to hang out with him. he brought that to the country. then he made an argument that the harris campaign needed, that she is not just exciting or new solutions to the democrats' problems. he argued he's the rightful successor to the biden/obama era. >> ari melber, thank you. your special coverage of the third day of the democratic national convention, along with joy reid co-anchoring live from chicago and alex wagner providing special coverage from the convention floor, all beginning at 6:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. thanks for coming in early. >> ari will have the charts from last night's roll call. >> right. >> i want that mix from dee jay cassidy. >> someone made a bootleg of it on spotify.

i don't know what dee jay cassidy is going to do. he texted he wanted the msnbc coverage of the roll call. he's excited about that. >> he texted? >> of course he texted. >> 'lil john was on the thread if you want to get in. i'm kidding. that was a joke. >> okay. coming up, the democratic presidential candidate hasn't won north carolina since president obama in 2008. our next guest is adamant it will happen again. north carolina governor roy cooper joins us to discuss the state of the race ahead of his speech to the dnc tomorrow night. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. last night you said that democrats are falling in love and in line. have you ever seen anything like it? >> no. this is normally what republicans do is fall in line and democrats fall in love. they're doing both this time around.

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last night's programming ran an hour behind. >> the program ran so late they had to cut out some of the elements and that apparently included singer james taylor. ♪ just yesterday evening they let me know i was bumped ♪ ♪ by somebody named gina raimondo ♪ ♪ so i started screaming at the top of my lungs ♪ ♪ you dirty bastards how dare you ♪ ♪ i'll set fires and i'll bring pain ♪ ♪ i'll bend your limbs in ways that limbs should never bend ♪ ♪ create traumas your mind

cannot comprehend ♪ ♪ [ bleep ] ♪ ♪ you'll learn not to cross j.t. again ♪ >> that's not real, is it? >> no. they dubbed it over. >> did they reschedule james taylor? you don't just cancel james taylor. >> don't bump j.t., baby. >> you got a friend. >> you got to get j.t. >> "gone to carolina." >> that would be perfect. look at this segue right here that she just did. >> that was nice. >> here is perhaps the most illiterate person when it comes to pop culture. >> not j.t. >> i loved that. >> former president trump is making another campaign stop in

north carolina later today, his second visit to the state in the span of one week and his third in less than a month. >> this is why i am the dennis thatcher of "morning joe." >> this comes as the university of virginia center for politics shifted north carolina from leaning republican to toss-up. joining us now from north carolina, democratic governor roy cooper joins us from chicago. very good to have you on the show today, sir. >> thank you, mika. glad to be here. >> everyone talks about the convention being a blast, the vibes being amazing. what's the work that needs to be done in the next 80 plus days? >> there's a lot of joy and excitement and hope here. there's a lot of unity. the only fumble being north carolina's james taylor getting the bump. that's the only fumble.

but what we've seen here is people coming together and determined to win. i think people understand we're all happy and we're together, but we have to win this thing. we're excited about north carolina. i have more people telling me, hey, if you win north carolina, she's the next president. i said, i know that. in fact, the trump campaign is panicking. they're putting a lot of money, spending a lot of time in north carolina. they know they have to win. this is where we want to be. >> governor, what has changed then since kamala harris was moved to the top of the ticket? let's talk north carolina in particular. was it that some voters were concerned about joe biden's age and were going to perhaps not go out and vote or toss a coin and say i'll go with donald trump after all. what has changed in these last three weeks that isn't just your gut, but shows up in the polling? >> north carolina januarys are

used to being a part of history. the last time democrats won was in 2008 with barack obama. there's a sense of making history again. joe biden has worked to make generational investments that we'll feel with our children and our children's children and he will go down as one of the greatest presidents ever. democrats were not unified and he made the right call. he made the patriotic call. and the excitement immediately, you could feel it. in fact, our north carolina delegation to the democratic convention convened itself hours after kamala harris' announcement and they unanimously voted to support her. it's hard to get 163 democratic delegates in a room to agree on anything. this was a bottom-up push. i say that often -- that we -- that people were worried about democratic leaders doing a coronation. it actually was from the ground

up pushing the leaders to say this is the person that we need at this critical moment, at this time in history. >> governor, one of the things we talked about is freedom. the other one i noticed last night was family. whether it be michelle obama talking about losing her mother and barack obama doing that. doug emhoff in this amazing speech talking about the values handed down by families. to what extent in north carolina is the sense of down home middle class families going to help the democrats and they've generally not had that vibe before. >> isn't it amazing our presidential nominees and vice presidential nominees came from middle class families? they can tell those real stories of working at mcdonald's, being a high school football coach, things that people can relate to. i think that people are going to be excited to hear from people

like that. not people born in privilege. not people who were born into wealth. people who have worked hard and made it and who care about them. when you think about the fact that kamala harris has spent her life trying to help working families get ahead while donald trump has spent his life trying to rip them off, i think people are going to understand that. enough people from north carolina will make sure that this happens and we're excited about winning the state. >> governor, we should note you're set to speak at the convention tomorrow night. let's spend more time on your home state. during the republican national convention there were trump aides who said north carolina was in the bag. we don't have to advertise there anymore. we don't have to spend anymore time there. that's no longer the case. donald trump is there today. they've invested a lot of ads to reverse their slide in the polls. how much of a role is the

republican gubernatorial candidate mark robbins playing? he has extremist views and espoused being a holocaust denier. >> there's no more extreme candidate than mark robbins. he has said men should lead, not women, that lgbtq people are filth. he's given to violent rhetoric. he's someone that -- me working seven and a half years as governor after our bathroom bill that we moved forward with success, if he got elected as governor of north carolina, it would be devastating. we don't want to go back to the culture wars that he would bring to our state. i think that this will be a bottom up and top down push. i think, of course, presidential campaigns bring people to the

polls who wouldn't normally come. that will help josh stein and kamala harris' race. i think that people are so concerned about this extreme candidate that many of them would vote for the first time and would also vote for kamala harris. i think the bottom part of the ticket will help the top part of the ticket. we also have extreme candidates statewide. north carolina republicans have nominated maga for head of our public schools, for attorney general. it's so critical that we make sure we win these statewide races. it's harder because in north carolina they all come on presidential years. it's so much harder for those races to break through. the partisan push will be important to get them elected. >> governor, i'm so glad you pointed this out because we talked about the republican gubernatorial candidate just as extreme is the republican candidate that was nominated to run north carolina's schools who

actually attended the january 6th rally and afterwards said that donald trump should, quote, put the constitution to the side and use the military to stay in power. >> yeah. she has said that. she has said that president obama, president biden, yours truly, should be publicly executed. she's called our public schools social list indoctrination centers and urged parents to pull them out. she has said teachers should have guns in the classroom. you can't run our public schools if you don't believe in public schools. we need to lift this race up. it's another one of those races where pta groups are meeting. we have a great candidate in moe green. they're supporting him. we may have a lot of people come

out in that race who will vote for kamala harris as well. a lot of things are converging in north carolina that can make the real difference in this election, not only in our state, but across the country. >> north carolina governor, roy cooper, thank you very much for coming on the show. >> thank you. walter isaacson, thank you as well. always good to see you. coming up on "morning joe" -- >> it's walta. >> three-time emmy award winning actor uzo aduba joins us live from chicago. she'll explain the issues she's advocating for at the democratic national convention. we're back in two minutes. onal . we're back in two minutes. ok limu! you set it, and as i spike it, i'll tell them how liberty mutual customizes car insurance, so they only pay for what they need.

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get a free unlimited line for a year when you add one unlimited line. plus, get a new google pixel 9 on us. bring on the good stuff. i did it because i was the only one who had the audacity to shake this system up! [ cheers and applause ] >> that was emmy award winning actor uzo aduba playing trail blazing congresswoman shirley chisolm. she became the first black candidate to seek the nomination for president and the first woman to run for the democratic party's nomination. she helped pave the way for kamala harris to become the first woman of color to lead a major party's presidential ticket. she joins us now from chicago. she's at the dnc on behalf of the creative coalition, a

nonprofit that advocates for the advancement of the arts in america. tell us more about why you're there and what you're doing along with the creative coalition. >> well, i'm here experiencing the dnc, getting the word out, the message out and how art can impact politics and our government and i've just been enjoying and soaking up this experience. last night was incredible. 20,000, 20,000 people were in here last night and the energy and excitement for this new day in america -- i think our former first lady said it best -- hope is now making a comeback. >> tell us a little bit more about the organization and what it hopes to accomplish here in chicago. >> sure. it's an art organization, 501 c 3.

it's a nonpartisan group. it doesn't take a side, but it hopes to act and get people to think about their positions and how they want to proceed with government. >> this is eddie glod here. great to see you. what was it like to play shirley? we know the wall she had to break through, the resistance she had to face. as you play shirley, what came to your mind. . what did you think about in terms of the history of this moment? >> it's impossible to ignore the notes that existed back when shirley chisolm ran for president and to see this historic moment now with vice president harris running. the power, the confidence, the courage, the intelligence that she and shirley chisolm have to

have in order to sit in that highest seat, the qualification and the readiness. that was something i brought into my performance. shirley was a trail blazers. she was a pioneer in politics. we're seeing that now. >> the organization doesn't take political sides. the role of the arts in every day american life, that's something that can often be overlooked. as we hear from speakers from either side of the aisle, it's part of the fabric. talk to us more about why it's so important. >> it's important because art has the ability to impact our every taking that into the art space is important because people are start to able to understand, formulate different ideas, consider new thoughts on legislation, policies that maybe they didn't consider in the past without being partisan.

not taking any particular side, but highlighting all of the conversations happening in the political space. >> act thank you for joinings us. we'll mention her memoir entitled "the road is good." it goes on sale september 24th. up next here on "morning joe," a special treat. olympic champion noah lyles is live in studio and he brought his medals from the paris games. yeah, just that. swroe joe will be right back. ga. yeah, just that. swroe joe will be right back

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the paris olympics were filled with dramatic moments. none more so than the photo

finish in the men's 100 meter final. it was that race noah lyles in lane 7 mounted a come from behind victory winning by just 5,000th of a second. he would add a bronze despite being sick with covid. and the world's fastest man noah lyles joins us live in studio. >> oh, my gsh. >> the champ is here. >> it's great to see you. >> can we start with the 100 meter final and that race? we have all seen that photo. you sticking your chest out just enough to win the gold medal. for the lamen watching, you go this didn't look good. was that your strategy all along? take us through the race a little bit? >> i wouldn't say that's my strategy, but that's very normal of my races. a lot of people know me for being a finisher. but my start can be a little closer to average than most people. especially in a race where they are considering the fastest man

in the world. everybody else i feel they definitely went out of their normal plan and tried to use everything in the beginning, where i kind of had a normal start for me. and then just say, hey, the top end portion of the race, i'm just going to give it everything i have. i know the rules. i know the tort sew first. and i'm pretty good at my lean and my dip. so as you can see, it's awarded me the gold medal. >> if i remember correctly, right after the race you didn't know whether you'd won. you were maybe congratulating somebody else. >> i was talking to the man who got second from jamaica. i think you might have got that one man. we didn't know because it was so close. i was so far out that i couldn't see. all i knew is that i had the lean. after the race, i was like, dang, did i get first, second, did i get a medal. i don't know. it felt so weird. i couldn't see or sense anybody. the name popped up on the

screen. >> wow. >> i'm amazing. >> you are. yes, you are. speaking of, my daughter called me during the show. i come from a family of runners. running is life to us. and she said why didn't you tell me noah lyles was going to be on. i said what should i ask him. should i tell him he's great? i she goes, i think he kind of knows that. but i'm curious. when did you start running? why? and do you still love it? when did you know you were great? >> i started running around the age of like 9 or 10. i was a high jumper. i wasn't into the sprinting portion, but i have been in the track and field world my whole life. my parents ran at seton hall. and my dad has his own medals. we were always in the track and field world. i thought become an olympian was like getting your driver's license.

but that's just to show the type of environment i was in from an early age. i eventually when i decided to do track, i'm kind of fast. then i got to about my 8th grade year. oh, i'm really fast. and this is when me and my brother saw the olympics in 2012. we were like, we could do that. we could go to 2016. four years later, i got 4th at the olympic trials. i mised it by one spot, but i broke the high school national record. so turned pro with adidas and everything else has been history. >> i would love to hear about the 200 that you ran under those conditions. you have this larger than life personality. you're a showman in all sorts of ways. as a result, there's some folks that come at you. tarik hill wants to run at you. talk a little bit about you, the personality that you bring to the sport of track and field. >> i think my girlfriend describes it very well. i do have many different hats

that i wear. being a performer is definitely one for the track. but people can get lost in that personality because, unfortunately, that's all they get to see in the 19 seconds i get to show them. usually, it's moments like this where we get to have a conversation that everybody learns, he had so many hardships and had to overcome things like catching covid at the olympics and saying we got to find the right circumstances and we have to make sure that everybody stays safe, not just myself. we didn't want anybody to miss their opportunity to be able to have a great olympics as well. and so, yes, i wear the hat of a showman and have a lot of confidence because i have been through a lot to say, hey, i have been through this moment and i can fight through it again. so any time they see me online is a situation of, oh, he's just cocky and bashful. but as soon as they meet me, you get to see that personality, this is not the guy we see on the track all the time.

this is the guy who has been through life and understands quite a bit more than just he thinks everybody else is beneath him. >> talk about another side that people don't see. they turn on the olympics. it must be incredible to be born with that taent. to just be that gifted. for everything to fall into your lap. talk about the hard work. talk about the challenge. talk about the discipline. when everybody else is sleeping and you're getting up and you're going out to the track and it's sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifi all for that moment. >> i think a lot of people kind of can get a concept of it, but it's different when you're living it. to be honest, it doesn't feel like a sacrifice a lot because this is what i dreamed of. this is what i prayed for. this is what i worked towards. this is what i want. everybody has their dream and their motives. for me, that's this. it's track and field. i'm having fun with it. sometimes it is very hard. sometimes you get to be olympic champion and get a call, oh, i'm

so sorry, i have to go run. all you hear we're going to go. i remember i had tickets to see travis scott in orlando. i was going to go. then i was like, it's too late. i have a track meet in two days. it's probably going to make me too tired. yeah, i'm not going to go. then i hear from my friend, kanye west just showed up. my favorite artist. good for them. you have to repeat the mantra, i'm going to be an olympic champion. then you have the sacrifices of food, diet, mental health, always trying to keep your team in line and putting your best foot forward. sometimes you don't get it right. that's part of being human. that's just how we are. >> it's all worth it. >> he is also the world's fastest man. that's kind of cool. noah lyles, thank you very much for coming into the studio. >> thank you so much. congratulations. >> and that does it for us